Mark Neely Infolution Pty. Ltd. In a world which receives 24 hour news coverage, offers increasingly thicker newspapers and current affairs journals, endless hours of talk-back radio debate, and thousands of Web sites devoted to public policy issues, you would be forgiven for thinking that our society is rapidly approaching the pinnacle of informed public debate. But, of course, it isn't. Discourse is dying, but it is not for want of information.
Several contributors touch on the usual suspects.
Also canvassed are the perils inherent in the packaging of news and opinion as entertainment, which often allows the personalities of the day to dominate the discussion, leaving scant room for exploring the issues. One of the book's more powerful pieces, for this writer, centered on an analysis of the role played by political correctness in public forums and debate. More tellingly, few sections of the media adequately interpret their significance or outcome. The book itself appears aimed at media study students and researchers although, unfortunately, it will no doubt also be popular amongst political science students and political advisors. Due to the case-study nature of some of the contributions, the book does offer some very practical instruction on how to stymie debate and discourse.