Public Journalism and Political Knowledge

If you are interested in learning about the role of journalism in modern day America, this book is for you. Think about how journalism shapes our opinions by its impact on media from radio, tv, newspapers, and magazines. Now think about who is actually producing the growing commodity of public and political news and information. Right! Journalists. But who are they, and why do they do what they do? Are they biased? Are they even qualified to write about public and political issues? Face it. A journalist starting out is going to begin reporting on local issues, which nearly always involve local politics or public policy. This is when most journalists realize that they slept through the news in college, and didn't take nearly enough courses to prepare them to report on even the most basic of public institutions. And these are the people that we trust to give us the news. Basically, without a working knowledge of politics and public policy, these journalists become talking heads that merely report what they are told, and cannot analyze what they are being told. They become instruments of propaganda, leaving the only thing to affect their analysis is their own political views and beliefs...thus, media bias. This book puts it all together so we can all understand the importance journalism plays in politics and public policy, but also puts on trial the journalism profession for its shortcomings of accurately informing the public. An excellent read.