Capsule reviews of new books, films and magazines on media, culture, and democracy. Send review copies to Reclaim the Media, 927 22nd Ave, Seattle WA 98122.

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DEC 06

Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy
by Jeff Chester [New Press]

When Bill Moyers calls Jeff Chester "the Paul Revere of the media revolution," he's celebrating the author's prescient knack for warning to the rest of us about the terrible things coming just over the horizon. Chester's first book warns public interest advocates of the multiple perils facing them down in the ongoing broadband communications revolution. Deeply researched and lucidly written, Digital Destiny analyzes the media democracy movement's principal obstacles and opponents over the next several years: corporate consolidation, out-of-control commercialization (including Internet spyware), deceptive corporate lobbying, and of course "captured" government regulators. Chester's final chapters sketch the strengths and weaknesses of today's media democracy movement, and offer a (perhaps too condensed) list of issues and tactics for the near future. Digital Destiny may make you more cynical, but it will also make you smarter - and a citizen activist better equipped to take on the corporate Goliaths.-jl

Friendly Fire: The Remarkable Story of a Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq, Rescued by an Italian Secret Service Agent, and Shot by US Forces
by Giuliana Sgrena [Haymarket]

Sgrena's confident, disturbing Iraq memoir narrates the intrepid wartime journalist's abduction and detention by Sunni militants, and the disastrous "accident" during her release, in which US soldiers fired upon her car, killing an Italian security officer and seriously wounding Sgrena herself. Much more than that, however, Friendly Fire is a discomfiting closeup on the realities and real consequences of the military occupation of Iraq. Without identifying with or excusing her captors, Sgrena draws upon her experience to deepen her reflections on frustrations of ordinary Iraqis dealing with daily threats of violence, power and water outages, and the Islamization of their formerly secular society. Throughout Sgrena reveals herself as an intrepid journalist deeply committed to telling the human stories often obscured by explosions, gunfire or propaganda. Her own story here is bookended by an introduction and news accounts by Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman and Jeremy Scahill. -jl

The Case Against Media Consolidation: Evidence on Concentration, Localism, and Diversity
edited by Marc Cooper [Fordham University]

One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse
by Ali Abunimah [Henry Holt]

Media activist and Electronic Initifada editor Ali Abunimah is among the most articulate critics of media bias in US-based middle east coverage. In his first book, Abunimah makes a deeply human, persuasive argument in favor of a single Israeli-Palestinian state. What continually seems impossible, he argues, is what Palestinians, Israelis and Americans must make inevitable if there is to be lasting peace in the Middle East. A powerfully reasoned read alongside President Carter’s recently published take on the same conflict (backing a two-state solution). -jl

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
The Wow Climax: Tracing the Emotional Impact of Popular Culture
Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Media Consumers in a Digital Age
by Henry Jenkins [NYU Press]

Three new books are set to further popularize the social-media insights of MIT professor Henry Jenkins. In the essays which constitute Convergence Culture and Fans, Bloggers and Gamers, Jenkins takes stock of the intersection of two simultaneous and seemingly contradictory trends: the increasing consolidation and centralization of the entertainment industry, and the social media explosion of individual consumer empowerment. In addition to the well-understood realm of “fan fiction,” Jenkins also notes more complex interactions in which fan networks become compelling expansions or alternatives to “original” works. Meanwhile, corporate media managers are playing catch-up in attempts to explore and exploit new multivalent relationships between creators and audiences. What does it all mean for our culture? Jenkins, obviously a pop culture fan as well as an observer and critic, has many thought-provoking insights. In a third new book, The Wow Climax, the prolific Jenkins appreciatively explores the emotional appeal of the spectacle (horrific, sex appeal, sentimental, etc.) in mass entertainment. -jl

Ruthless: A Memoir
by Jerry Heller, with Gil Reavill [Simon and Schuster]

The Hollywood record mogul who founded Ruthless Records with NWA's Eazy E looks back on the fat and lean days of the label, including his many colorful encounters with up-and-coming musicians, industry players and thugs. Inspired by Jeff Chang's (much broader) history of hip-hop, Can't Stop Won't Stop, Heller's book is an engaging read for those interested in the business and social scenes behind the emergence of west coast gangsta rap in the late 80s and early 90s. -jl

History in the Making: An Absorbing Look at How American History Has Changed in the Telling over the Last 200 Years
by Kyle Ward [New Press]

NOV 06

People's Movements, People's Press: The Journalism of Social Justice Movements
by Bob Ostertag [Beacon]

Social movement advocacy journalism – from William Lloyd Garrison's Abolitionist to the feminist punk zine Clit Rocket – is the focus for this fine study commissioned by the Independent Press Association. Author Bob Ostertag finds that the measure of success for social movement-based periodicals turns out to be their contributions to movement goals and values rather than measures commonly associated with mainstream commercial press - such as circulation or objectivity. Detailed chapters cover print media of the 19th century abolitionist and suffragist movements, the environmental movement, dissident GIs during the Vietnam War, and the multifaceted gay and lesbian movement. An inspiring and fun read. -jl

Institutions of American Democracy: The Press
ed. by Geneva Overholser and Kathleen Hall Jamieson [Oxford]

Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity
by Michelle Bates [Focal]

OCT 06

Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media
by Jeff Cohen [PoliPoint Press]

Between 1996 and 2003, Fairness and Accuracy and Reporting co-founder Jeff Cohen went into the belly of the corporate media beast, as a pundit for Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, then as producer of the latter network's ill-fated "Donahue" program. Engaging and often hilarious, Cohen's memoir of his journey from in-the-streets media activist to TV pundit is full of anecdotes revealing how news coverage and "debate" are shaped in today's craven cable news industry. In the book's hopeful epilogue, Cohen surveys some ways in which grassroots progressives are using new media technologies to circumvent the cowardly and formulaic corporate media gatekeepers. Buy extra copies—you'll want to share this book with friends and family. -jl

Ready, Set, Talk!
by Ellen Ratner and Kathie Scarrah [Chelsea Green]

This highly useful, no-nonsense guide to media relations is full of straightforward, well-organized tips for those who need to get their message out through the media. The authors (Ratner, a Fox News analyst and Scarrah, a former media staffer for both Lieberman and Kucinich) provide tactical advice for effective message development, coaching media spokespeople, and securing opportunities to appear on radio and TV programs. An insightful chapter is devoted to strategic uses of Internet communication tools including blogs and social networking tools. Until we live in a democratic media utopia, this book provides some of the wily strategies communicators need to cut through the static. -jl

SEPT 06

Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back
by Amy Goodman and David Goodman [Hyperion]

The second collection of essays by Democracy Now! cohost Amy Goodman and brother David picks up where the first one let off—bringing to light some of the dirtiest deeds of the Bush administration and its corporate cronies, and detailing how a compliant corporate media system bears responsibility for allowing crimes against democracy and humanity to continue. As such, it's not always a pleasurable read. But the Goodmans and Democracy Now! have been virtually alone on shining a national spotlight on stories such as the US-assisted overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and extraordinary renditions and torture flights such as that endured by Canadian Maher Arar. As storytellers, the authors provide a highly useful record of how these things took place, including the true interests at stake, the failures of media oversight and democratic accountability, and the grassroots women and men who have met government abuses with courageous resistance. -jl

AUG 06

Homegrown: Engaged Cultural Criticism
by bell hooks and Amalia Mesa-Bains [South End]

Anti-racist, anti-patriarchal cultural criticism, as practiced by hooks and Mesa-Bains, is a vital form of media literacy and a survival strategy for young African Americans and Latinos. In an invitingly freewheeling conversation, the authors explore how capitalist-directed cultural trends and marketing undermine our capacity for liberating self-development, particularly among African American, Latino and women. Mesa-Bains and hooks provide characteristically insightful deconstructions of, for example, the iconization of Frida Kahlo, the debate over Ebonics, and purportedly anti-racist films such as Crash and Traffic. For Mesa-Bains and hooks, all of our cultural activity (including media consumption) should eschew passive consumerism to provide opportunities for radical resistance to oppression. -jl

JUNE 06

Marching Plague: Germ Warfare and Global Public Health
by the Critical Art Ensemble [Autonomedia]

This small book was originally intended to provide documentation and background for the Critical Arts Ensemble's vanguard political art project "Marching Plague," which sought to critique and undermine the US government's post-9/11 fearmongering around biological weapons. The project hit close to home for it's target, however, and the FBI's prosecution of a CAE principal on bioterrorism compsiracy charges became a subtext of the book (and delayed its publication for two years). The book includes a focused, independent narrative on the history of biological weapons development and attempted use. More broadly useful is its examination of how and why the government and mass media have colluded to generate hysteria about bioweapons, exploiting the public's ignorance to keep us distracted from real political issues and, not coincidentally, crises in global health. -jl

MAY 06

Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush
by Eric Boehlert [Free Press]

Boehlert’s coverage of national journalism and politics was one of the best things about Salon.com for years. Now his first book, a characteristically articulate indictment of the DC press corp’s soft-glove treatment of the Bush administration, does not disappoint. In addition to detailing and analyzing press failures which will be familiar to many readers, Lapdogs attempts to catalog and fathom the administration’s contempt for press access and the national media’s willingness to be cowed and marginalized. Self-consciously following in the footsteps of fellow media observer Eric Alterman, Boehlert also explores the connection between mainstream journalists' behavior and right-wing attacks on the "liberal media." -jl

Democracy's Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life
by Frances Moore Lappé [Jossey-Bass]

Lappé’s latest book contains grassroots recipes for a functioning participatory democracy, what she calls a “revolution of hope.” The book’s snapshots of effective activism and simple ways to get involved are intended for a broad audience (buy it for your parents), but also are guided by an uncompromising vision for social and economic justice. Lappé’s chapter on media activism contains one of the best summary accounts of the 2002-2003 US fight against media consolidation. -jl

Henry R. Luce, Time, and the American Crusade in Asia
by Robert Edwin Herzstein [Cambridge]

Dense with biographical and historical detail, Herzstein's study examines how a powerful and connected media tycoon helped influence both the course of American foreign policy and the publc's understanding of East Asian societies. Motivated by a strident and unquestioning anti-Communism, Luce and his senior editors at Time and Life mainstreamed a style of subtly partisan international news coverage which led some critics to call Luce's company the unofficial propaganda wing of the Eisenhower administration. -jl

Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism
by Eric Burns [Public Affairs]

Attack the Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against the Media
by Craig Crawford [Rowman and Littlefield]

APR 06

Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women
by Eleanor Mills, Kira Cochrane and Naomi Wolf [Carroll & Graf]

Provides highlights of the often-overlooked history of 20th century women advocacy journalists and essayists, from Emma Goldman to Erica Jong to Alice Walker. the field of writers included is somewhat canonical, however. Excerpts are regrettably short, and numerous major figures (Ida B. Wells) and contemporaries (Naomi Klein, Arundhati Roy, Irshad Manji, Jill Nelson, etc.) are overlooked. -jl

All the News That's Fit to Sell: How the Market Transforms Information into News
by J.T. Hamilton [Princeton]

It's a truism among media activists that business factors influence news coverage on TV, radio and newspapers alike. But how does this happen, and what are structural solutions for the media mainstream? Hamilton attempts to develop an "economic theory of news" based on voluminous research and candid assessments about what people want to read and watch, as well as a principled view of the importance of a critical press for democracy. Useful and thought-provoking. -jl

Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy
by Noam Chomsky [Metropolitan]

MAR 06

Voices of the New Arab Public: Iraq, al-Jazeera, and Middle East Politics Today
by Marc Lynch [Columbia]

How are electronic communications and populist satellite networks like Al-Jazeera changing political participation in the Arab World? Lynch examines in critical detail the various factors contributing to the contemporary Arab public sphere, including pro-democracy elements, pan-Arab nationalism, and the enduring power of Saudi elites. Lynch's central focus on Jazeera and the Iraq war provides the best-yet of the channel's significance. -jl

The Venezuelan Revolution: 100 Questions - 100 Answers
by Chesa Boudin, Gabriel Gonzalez and Wilmer Rumbos [Thunder's Mouth]

A helpful rough guide for those seeking a quick primer on Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolution. The topical Q&A format makes it easy to find quick answers: Why do the poor support Chavez? What is the government's development philosophy? The American and Venzuelan authors are generally sympathetic to Chavez but also acknowledge and contextualize criticisms from left and right. Includes a good, if brief discussion of the Venezuelan mass media and media policy/freedom of expression under the new constitution. -jl

We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, For the People (paperback edition)
by Dan Gillmor [O'Reilly]

FEB 06

Censoring Culture: Contemporary Threats to Free Expression
ed. by Robert Atkins and Svetlana Mintcheva [New Press]

With highly readable essays divided into sections on economics, the Internet, protecting children, hate speech and self-censorship, this volume is a tour de force critical examination of the multiple forms of censorship in the arts today. Considering together censorship based on government regulation, market pressures, well-intentioned hate-speech policies, the volume will enrich many discussions on ceneorship and the arts. The editors have assembled essays, brief reflections and interviews from an unusually wide range of voices, including artists, authors, activists, scholars, journalists, students and other cultural workers. Highly recommended. -jl

Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy
by John Nichols and Robert McChesney [New Press]

This satisfying contribution from media reformers McChesney and Nichols recounts the US mainstream media's dismal performance during the buildup to the Iraq War and the 2004 election season. The book offers an informative critique of the national media's apparent bias towards powerful interests, its magnetic attraction towards often-misleading consensus frames for debate on significant issues. A great read; includes an interesting examination of mainstream coverage of the Howard Dean presidential campaign. -jl

Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism that Changed the World
ed. by John Pilger [Thunder's Mouth]

A deeply inspiring compendium of the most effective investigative reporting from 1945 to the present. Long excerpts from many journalistic and commentarial heroes: Edward R. Mitford, Jessica Mitford, Eduardo Galeano, Seymour Hersh, Edward Said, Robert Fisk and many lesser-known but highly significant practitioners of an honorable and necessary craft. -jl

And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey
by Studs Terkel [New Press]

An enjoyable collection of radio interviews Terkel conducted with a range of mid century musical venerables, hailing mostly from the classical (Andres Segovia) and respectable jazz (Louis Armstrong) worlds, but also including folk musicians Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, among others. Neither a history nor a book about the cultural power of radio, this is nonetheless a good document of the younger Terkel's curious, humble interviewing style. -jl

JAN 06

Communication in Movement
by Osvaldo León, Sally Burch, Eduardo Tamayo G. [Agencia Latino Americana de Informacion (Quito)]

Manual urgente para Radialistas: apasionadas y apasionados
by José Ignacio López Vigil [Ministeria de Comunicación e Información (Caracas)]

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