Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media

Michael Parenti does what so many of the popular liberal writers can not seem to do. He speaks directly to the common man. His prose and cadance are in tune with the way an average Joe like me thinks and uses the english language. In regards to this book, he has brought to life the reasons why a person from the blue collar ranks should begin to look again at the crap spewing out of the TV set. It is one thing to hear that Faux News is biased but another to read, in detail, how the entire mainestram media including the entertaining aspect is skewed towards the interest of the corporate conglomerates and not the interest of an average auto mechanic like myself. This was the second 4th of Mr. Paranti's works that I read. By now I have read them all. I encourage you all to do the same.

I've followed Michael around on his lecture circuit, and recently had a chance to read this book. Michael does an excellent job of exposing the "free" media for what it really is. He goes into detail on the censorship of newspapers, journalists, and the ridiculous right wing slant that is prevalent in the news today. Some of his viewpoints are a little sketchy, but most of them hit home and make a terrible amount of sense. I can safely say that Michael has made a believer out of me. I look forward to reading his other books.

Once again, the author shows that he is one of the country's best radical political analysts. He points out, for example, that the idea of a "liberal-left" bias in the media is nonsense; media mouths like Rush, Buckley and Cokie Roberts tirelessly complain about this supposed bias, yet do not realize that their own gluttonous portion of the airwaves and print media refutes the very idea! Other notable facts discussed in this book are: the undemocratic control and censorship of the media by the corporations--driven only by profit--that own them; the lack of attention devoted to socialist candidates for the presidency, which is based on the convenient circular pretext that they do not stand a chance of winning; and the reporting of political campaigns as if they were an "issueless publicity contest." All in all, a persuasuve book with an appropriately moderate tone, enlivened here and there with some sly humor.

The author explains clearly the ideological monopoly of our news media and how they control our thinking in so many ways. Americans need to be aware of the tremendous scope of media biasness(and its NOT towards the left, as many believe), shallowness of reporting, and how the media so often undermines substantial thought, especially in the area of foreign affairs and policy. Because of "Inventing Reality", I very much look forward to ordering the author's book on entertainment media, "Make-Believe Media: The Politics of Entertainement", if only the publisher would reprint it!