Robert W. McChesney (1952–2025)

"The grand irony of the internet," McChesney writes on page 191, "is that what was once regarded as an agent of diversity, choice and competition has become an agent of monopoly."
In such moments, the author subverts the typical assumptions about the connection between media and democracy in contemporary American society. But unlike the many dour newspaper reporters forced into an early retirement or policy wonks dismayed by the monopolization of America's communications sector, McChesney show more avoids romanticizing eras which did not exist or placing too much faith in half-baked solutions. Instead, he offers a sober and wonkish analysis as well as concrete proposals for radically changing the media which prioritize democracy and diversity — two facets of the free press too often overlooked in our contemporary discourse. show less

Preface: The author started out with a leftist leaning - giving the impression that he changed his viewpoint, but from the rest of the book, I learned that he still has the same orientation.

Chapter 1 says that the two sides talking about whether the Internet is a positive influence, or a negative influence are talking past each other. In the preface and in chapter 1, he cites lots of other books which presumably have similar concerns. In Goodreads, the other books this author has written show more all look like they are all on a similar topic.

But, rather than belabor each of the chapters, the point of the book is that Capitalism took over the Internet when advertisers moved in. And as a consequence, professional journalism is going, going, and almost gone. He is especially concerned with the loss of investigative journalism, and of local news reporting.

It's enough to make me itch to support the old style of Journalism by subscribing to two publications that definitely do not see eye-to-eye: The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. show less

The book to read if you want to know about how and why corporate media consolidation happened, and what deleterious effects this process has had on democracy and public discourse here and abroad. This is solid left-centrist scholarship with no radical Chomsky-esque tendendtiousness or axes to grind.

Accessible and readable, focuses on the media's role in the build up to the Iraq invasion and the 2004 presidential election and presents a framework for the emerging media reform movement in the US.