Rise and Fall of the Media Establishment
In The Rise and Fall of the Media Establishment, Darrell M. West (Checkbook Democracy: How Money Corrupts Political Campaigns), professor of political science and public policy at Brown University, traces media's influence from 1789 to 2000. While 19th-century journalists "did not have much credibility or independent power," in the 20th century "journalists became major power brokers," he observes. In the 1990s, however, "the media establishment has lost control over news reporting and a wide range of media outlets are in cutthroat competition, resulting in "more sensational and tabloid-oriented" coverage. West delivers an astute, probing, partisan critique of the social and governmental ramifications of "electronic Balkanization," "crude" late-night TV and "niche-market narrowcasting."Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.