Losing the News : The Future of the News That Feeds Democracy |  | Author: Alex Jones
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Category: eBooks
In Stock
Rating:  55 reviews
Sales Rank: 27,530
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 071.3
ASIN: B002TQKRZ6
Publication Date: September 2, 2009
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Product Description
What is wrong with the news? To answer this dismaying question, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alex S. Jones explores how the epochal changes sweeping the media have eroded the core news that has been the essential food supply of our democracy. At a time of dazzling technological innovation, Jones says that what stands to be lost is the fact-based reporting that serves as a watchdog over government, holds the powerful accountable, and gives citizens what they need. In a tumultuous new media era, with cutthroat competition and panic over profits, the commitment of the traditional news media to serious news is fading. Should we lose a critical mass of this news, our democracy will weaken--and possibly even begin to fail. The breathtaking possibilities that the web offers are undeniable, but at what cost? The shattering of the old economic model is taking a toll on journalistic values and standards. Journalistic objectivity and ethics are under assault, as is the bastion of the First Amendment. Pundits and talk show hosts have persuaded Americans that the crisis in news is bias and partisanship. Not so, says Jones. The real crisis is the erosion of the iron core of "accountability" news, a loss that hurts Republicans and Democrats alike. Losing the News is a vivid depiction of the dangers facing fact-based, reported news, but it is also a call to arms. Despite the current crisis, there are many hopeful signs, and Jones closes by looking over the horizon and exploring ways the iron core can be preserved.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 55
 Must Read July 23, 2009
J. Soller (Washington, DC)
19 out of 23 found this review helpful
Losing the News challenges the reader to assess the importance of news---its purpose, content, value, delivery and business mechanisms, and ethics. And, in that assessment, the reader reevaluates the importance of his or her responsibility as an `every day' American citizen and consumer of media information.
Who is this reader Alex S. Jones addresses? In keeping with major themes of the text---how news interacts with democracy, Jones writes this book for those who love to read print newspapers, for those who are connected to news electronically, for lovers of US history, government, ethics, and all social sciences, for newspaper people and journalists, elected officials, policy makers, and private citizens. The wise teacher or professor who wishes to deliver a dynamic, thought-provoking, provocative (and, probably, the most popular on campus) course will use this book as a text.
But, most of all, Losing the News is for people who love good books. Written by a master storyteller, the prose is gorgeous. Jones' style empowers the reader to enjoy the book from his or her unique experience.
I noticed the Amazon release date for Losing the News is August 19; a very fitting date as it is the birthday of the great 20th century British writer and fierce journalistic defender of freedom, Bernard Levin, CBE. Whether your purchase is print or Kindle (ironic chuckle), Losing the News by Alex S. Jones is a must read.
Answers longheld questions December 15, 2009
R. Kyle (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Getting the real story has been a problem for many years. The issue seems to be getting worse as time goes on and the traditional values of our media seem to have been eroded by both technology, advocacy journalism, and 'citizen journalists'. Alex Jones examines these issues and in the concluding chapter gives readers an idea how the media can be saved.
Jones is described by many as a journalist's journalist, but he also writes well and inclusively enough that people outside the business can completely understand his thesis and supporting arguments. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read this volume. It's a book I am considering buying as gifts for family members and friends who are asking the same questions as I have been.
Rebecca Kyle, December 2009
THE PAINFUL TRUTH December 19, 2009
W. T. Hoffman (Pennsylvania, United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When given the option, many people choose an easy lie, rather than face the hard, painful truth. Have you watched the TV newscasts recently? Read local papers recently? As a society, we have either chosen, or have stuffed down our throat, the easy lie. LOSING THE NEWS faces the hard, painful truth-as a society, our tradition of OBJECTIVE TRUTH has been slowly eraised from the media outlets, and replaced with Opinionated Journalism, or worse, gossip columns maskarading as news stories. Alex Jones has revealed a book of masterful scholarship, filled with revelation upon revelation about the history of the American Newspaper, the Supreme Court decisions about freedom of the press, the evolution of Television newscasts, the dependency of a free democracy on reliable news, and the downfall of the veracity of our media, and its replacement with "Advocacy news", a.k.a. propaganda. I can't say I read this book quickly, or with much joy. Instead, I underlined many passages, complained to friends about new facts I'd just discovered, or watched dumbfounded as information I just learned made clear the filtering of news stories in the local paper. This is not an easy book to read, because it's the truth, the hard, painful truth about the erosion of the US media outlets.
Alex Jones was raised in a Newspaper family, that owned the GREENEVILLE SUN (in Greeneville, Tenn.) He watched as newspapers revealed the sham of WATERGATE, and the downfall of a president, accomplished by investagative reporters. Then, the terrible realization that due to the cuts in staffs, even our country's major papers dont have the ability to snoop around and discover the dark underbelly, and deceptions of our government, or corperations, and reveal them to the public. Jones worked at the NEW YORK TIMES from 1983 to 1992, and won a Pulitzer Prize. His observations aren't the ramblings of opinion makers, but rather a detailed account of the rise of investigative reporting, and its downfall. An entire chapter of the book just documents the history of the First Admendment, guarenteeing freedom of the Press, and how that was slowly refined during the nation's history. Of course, this will be "news" to most people, because no doubt most people believe we always had freedom of the Press and free speech. Surprisingly, its only about 75 years old. Naturally, the rise in "Advocacy News" is well documented. FoxNEWS might be many things, but its not news reporting of course, in the sense that news must have objective, verifiable facts, and be loyal to the citizens and not corperations or political interests. When these disciplines are not met, we are left with propaganda, pure and simple. Since a truly free, democratic government cannot be maintained without the oversight of investigative news, our democracy is threatened. Big time. This is not shouted from the corner of the street, by some homeless skizophrenic, but rather by a man who is the Director of Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on the Press, and lectures at the Kennedy School of Government. He knows his facts, and each fact is thoroughly and completely documented in this book. I can't think you could get a better understanding of Journalism, and media, from any other modern book. The bottom line is that things are changing FAST in the world of journalism, and nearly ALL the changes are towards opinions superceding documented facts. As a free democracy, if we dont monitor what we accept as news, and especially NOW, we will lose our freedom of press and speech. Consider reading this book as a investigative reporter, who is trying to discover what happened, and what IS happening, to the state of American News. Even if you think Fox News is the be all and end all of journalistic validity, and that the "liberal media" is attempting to destroy your freedom to unbaised truth, it would still behoove you to READ AND STUDY this book. Or, if you're on the other side of the fence, and you already know that our media is filtered, you should STILL read this book. Unless you've a masters in journalism, you definately do NOT know what's revealed in this book. Its great to complain and gripe. Its better to attempt to make changes, thru using facts, and history, so we can preserve what is left of independant, investigative reporting, and our country's tradition of freedom of Speech and Press.
Essential News August 9, 2009
Bruce Payne (New York City)
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
Alex Jones's "Losing the News" is troubling, important, and terrifically interesting. In the midst of the the present transformation of patterns that have been dominant in the media for a century, Jones's deepest concern is that the core information citizens and policymakers need for wise decisions will become less and less available.
The most remarkable thing about this book is its superb story telling, which makes its analysis of central ethical and practical problems in the news business come vividly alive. And some of the best tales are are of the small town paper published for nearly a century by Jones's remarkable family in Tennessee.
Fairminded, engaged with views that differ from his own, and wonderfully well-informed, Jones is a wise guide to the present crisis of the news business and to the innovations and the moral qualities that are needed for coping with it.
a provocative, readable, and highly informed look at a news culture in crisis August 16, 2009
Anne Nelson (NY NY)
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
There's been a lot of noise about the "death of journalism," but this is one book that really clarifies the debate. Jones focuses our attention on what exactly is at stake -- how does quality journalism serve democracy? He builds his answer around the image of the "iron core" of news and analysis that informs civic life. We can do without advertising, we can live without dead tree journalism -- but we can't afford to lose the ability to scrutinize our institutions.
Jones draws on his own extensive background in journalism, ranging from his own family's small-town papers to the New York Times. He is neither bedazzled by, nor dismissive of, the wonders of technology, but keeps going back to the all-important watchdog principle that is endangered by the glut of infotainment and consumer-oriented media. He provides a good, if guarded, overview of the various efforts (among foundations, etc.) to save traditional journalistic values, and shoots down some cherished myths of the "Golden Ages" of journalism, documenting how American journalism has not always lived up to its expectations. He does an especially good job weaving First Amendment history into his argument. All in all, a provocative, readable, and highly informed look at a news culture in crisis.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 55
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