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Bad News: Where the Press Goes Wrong in the Making of the President
vBulletin Book Store > vBulletin books beginning with B
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Bad News: Where the Press Goes Wrong in the Making of the President |
Author: Robert Shogan
Published: 2002-09-25 |
List price: $16.95
Our price: $16.95
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Usually ships in 3 to 5 weeks
As of: December 03rd, 2008 04:49:55 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Disappointing
I was very disappointed with this book. The ideas were not new and the coverage was very superficial. This could be forgiven if there wasn't such a clear bias in the book. There were shades of bias in the early chapters, but as the book moved into the more modern elections it became clear that Shogan has a serious axe to grind. His coverage of the 2000 election is particularly skewed. His disdain for President Bush is quite evident. An example of this disdain can be found in his summary of the 2000 election from page 243: "Here was the governor of Texas, possessed of slim credentials, a nondescript intellect, and an underwhelming persona running a nose ahead of the incumbent vice president of an administration that had presided over a time of unparalleled prosperity. What's wrong with this picture?"
 Important topic; shallow coverage.
IÕm a bit of a political junky, but an unusual one in that I get almost all my news from print. Before I was old enough to vote I realized that television news didnÕt have much to tell me, and I stopped watching. Except for election results, and an occasional breaking story, I havenÕt watched television news since Nixon was president. Still, I realize that itÕs where most Americans get their news, and so IÕm curious about how it covers candidates and how (or if) it shapes opinions. ThatÕs why I picked up this book Ð a survey of how the media (especially television) have covered presidential elections since 1968.pI was very disappointed. I rarely pay attention to t.v. coverage, but even I knew almost everything in here. Robert Shogan has been covering presidential elections since 1948. I expected some professional insight, a few peeks behind the scenes, at least some thought-provoking opinions. Forget it. This is a bland recitation of everything you already know -- the press doesnÕt understand much about the making of a president, the press is more interested in the horse race than the issues, charismatic candidates do better than substantive ones on t.v., politicians avoid talking about issues and the press lets them get away with it. Is there anyone with even a mild interest in politics who doesnÕt know this already?pThe lack of insight is especially frustrating in ShoganÕs coverage of the 2000 election, which the media tripped all over itself trying to cover. Surely all the mistakes the media made in reporting on the election and its aftermath offers plenty of material for analyzing exactly how the media messes up when it tries to cover elections. But no. Shogan tells us the press adored McCain Ð which was pretty obvious Ð but doesnÕt offer an opinion about why. McCain was an underdog, but the press isnÕt always kind to underdogs Ð they certainly werenÕt kind to Bradley, Buchanan, or Nader. Shogan argues that the press went a lot easier on Bush than Gore, even though the majority of reporters probably voted Democratic. But once again, he offers no explanation of this paradox.pI think this book deals with an important topic. It just doesnÕt cover it very well. Shogan accuses the press of dealing superficially with presidential elections. But in the end I think this book is guilty of the same superficiality.
 Especially inviting for students of political science
Robert Shogan's Where The Press Goes Wrong In The Making Of The President outlines the turmoil of the 2000 presidential campaign and the underlying lessons to be learned from the news media's attempts to cover it. But this also draws on nine presidential elections to provide a thorough analysis of how the press is actively involved in the election process in a title which will prove especially inviting for students of political science.
Entertaining but biased
It was great fun to relive the details of Presidential campaigns from 1968 to the present, and the objective facts presented were well written. But the author skewed the "Bad News", overemphasizing Republican media victories and completely forgetting about certain unfair biases against Republicans (i.e. 1992 Iran Contra disclosures three days before the general election). Shogan really goes over the top in railing against the image of Gore 2000 as "the great exaggerator". There really were many good parts, but this man is obviously still angry about George W. Bush winning the Presidency, and it shows.
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