Saturday, August 29, 2009

The Political Economy of Media


Robert McChesney is an amazing man and someone I have the utmost respect and appreciation for. I had the great honor of seeing him speak several months ago at the University of Portland and walked away from that event with even greater awareness and passion that our corporate owned media system must change. This is about his latest book... Peace & hope ~ Molly

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The Political Economy of Media:
Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas
by Robert W. McChesney

Praise for McChesney’s The Problem of the Media:

“As Chomsky is to linguistics, Ben & Jerry’s to ice cream, and Elvis to shaking one’s hips, McChesney is to media analysis. He is the King: there is no one more definitive.”—Danny Schechter, founder of MediaChannel.org

“McChesney’s work has been of extraordinary importance. It should be read with care and concern by people who care about freedom and basic rights.”— Noam Chomsky

“Robert McChesney follows in the great tradition of Upton Sinclair, George Seldes, I.F. Stone, and Ben Bagdikian in exposing the ruthless hold of corporate power on the nations media.”— Howard Zinn

"As with all his prior works, this new volume demonstrates McChesney’s signal strengths as America’s leading critic and historian of the media: unrivaled erudition across several disciplines; a bracing theoretical lucidity; and – not least – a blunt and lively style, enlivened by a killer sense of humor. This book, in short, is a must-read not just for all admirers of McChesney’s work, but for everyone concerned about the global sway of the commercial media, and keen to put a stop to it at last."— Mark Crispin Miller, professor of media studies at NYU and author of Fooled Again

More than any other work, The Political Economy of Media demonstrates the incompatibility of the corporate media system with a viable democratic public sphere, and the corrupt policymaking process that brings the system into existence. Among the most acclaimed communication scholars in the world, Robert W. McChesney has brought together all the major themes of his two decades of research. Rich in detail, evidence, and thoughtful arguments, The Political Economy of Media provides a comprehensive critique of the degradation of journalism, the hyper-commercialization of culture, the Internet, and the emergence of the contemporary media reform movement. The Political Economy of Media is mandatory reading for anyone wishing to understand and change media, and the political economy, in the world today.

Robert W. McChesney is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of Communication Revolution, The Problem of the Media, and Rich Media, Poor Democracy.

More:

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“It's clear that there is a highly corrupt relationship between some journalists and those in positions of power, ... This indictment shows the corrupt nature of the press system and its linkage to power.”

"They've got to be held accountable; our broadcasting system has to be made accountable; and unless it is, it's going to be very hard to change anything else for the better in this country."

"You know, a left-winger, the barrier to success if you're on the left in commercial radio is a mile and a half higher than it is if you're on the right."

"Hightower's (Jim Hightower) problem, among other things, is that advertisers would be a lot less interested in his show than in Limbaugh's, even if they have similar ratings, because of what Hightower is saying."

"So the system we have in radio and television today is the direct result of government policies that have been made in our name, in the name of the people, on our behalf, but without our informed consent."

“As the mainstream media has become increasingly dependent on advertising revenues for support, it has become an anti-democratic force in society.”

~ Quotes by Robert McChesney

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