"Into the Buzzsaw''
Do we have a "free press" or just the illusion of one?
After reading the much awaited revised and expanded "Into the Buzzsaw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press," you'll have all the information you need -- from journalists themselves -- that theoretically we have the ability to have a free press. The problem, however, is that the most powerful sectors of the media -- television, radio and newspapers -- act more like the old Soviet self-censoring press than a media that reports on the truth necessary to engage in the public discourse necessary to a democracy.
The phrase "into the buzzsaw" is a journalistic expression for how stories eventually become censored or altered to the point that they reflect an official viewpoint, rather than the facts or investigative findings that expose possible deceptions in the "official viewpoint." After a time, only the most intrepid journalist will take on the powers that be, because they know that their careers (and high salaries) will suffer the wrath of General Electric (owner of NBC), Viacom (owner of CBS), Disney (owner of ABC), Time Warner (owner of CNN), Rupert Murdoch (owner of FOX NEWS), etc., etc. Not to mention news writers for papers like the Washington Post and New York Times, who have yet to do one serious long-term investigative piece on the chronic lying and misdeeds of the Bush Administration between them. Whatever their editorial policies, they hold their news writers on a very short leash, only allowing the occasional revelation of Bush deception or misdeeds, without continued follow-up and a sustained effort at providing news context.
http://www.buzzflash.com/reviews/05/rev05032.html
Revised and Expanded Edition
New Foreword by Gore Vidal
Critics described the first edition of this highly acclaimed book as “fascinating and disturbing,” “uplifting” and “infuriating,” as well as a “penetrating collection of powerful essays.”
This highly acclaimed book won the National Press Club’s Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the most extraordinary titles of 2002.
This expanded and updated edition, edited by former CBS and CNN producer Kristina Borjesson, is more timely and relevant than ever. Several new essays have been added, while others have been updated, revealing shocking new developments.
In the lead chapter, CBS’s top correspondent, Dan Rather, describes in chilling terms how the pressure to be patriotic compelled him and other journalists to censor themselves.
MSNBC’s Ashleigh Banfield speaks frankly about the critical difference between coverage and real journalism and how failing to report all sides of a story has created a very dangerous environment of ignorance.
Former Fox Network producer Charles Reina exposes details of how the news billed as “Fair and Balanced” is also a political tool that is shaped daily via an executive memo distributed electronically to Fox’s news staff every morning, addressing what stories will be covered and often suggesting how they should be covered.
A new chapter on Iraq by investigative reporter Charlotte Dennett presents a riveting angle on the subject that no one in the press has dared to examine — until now.
Pulitzer nominee John Kelly writes a troubling update on recent deadly CIA operations carried out as part of the War on Terrorism.
Jane Akre’s update on the precedent-setting outcome of her legal fight with Fox News over her investigation of Monsanto’s bovine growth hormone will unsettle, if not anger, journalists and the general public alike.
Kristina Borjesson’s new introduction examines how issues of censorship have, since the 9/11 tragedy and Into the Buzzsaw’s initial release, become front-page news on an almost daily basis.
Indeed, many journalists and increasing numbers of the general public view the control, suppression, manipulation, and distortion of information in news to have reached a crisis level — to the point of posing a significant threat to a free American society.
Among the other contributors are: CBS’s award winning investigative producer Helen Malmgren; veteran investigative journalist and author of DuPont: Behind the Nylon Curtain Gerard Colby; veteran print journalist and editor David Hendrix; founder and Director Emeritus of Project Censored Carl Jensen; former DEA agent-turned-journalist and best-selling author Michael Levine; author or editor of seven books, including Rich Media, Poor Democracy, Robert McChesney; award-winning CBS documentary producer Maurice Murad; independent investigative reporter and author of the current bestseller The Best Democracy Money Can Buy Greg Palast; New York Daily News investigative reporter J. Robert Port; Emmy Award-winning producer and author Monika Jensen-Stevenson; Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Gary Webb; and New York Observer columnist Philip Weiss.
Into the Buzzsaw is urgent and essential reading for all Americans.
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