
21,000+ Reviews
Bookshop.org has the highest-rated customer service of any bookstore in the world
Description
In a media landscape dominated by advocacy news networks pushing competing points of view, how can the average person uncover the truth about any particular issue? This book will show you how to separate the facts from the agenda-driven spin and selective presentation often used by such news sources as Fox and MSNBC. The author describes the goals of advocacy journalism-i.e., journalism that transparently advocates a biased worldview-and shows that it has been a part of our history since the 1700s. He assesses the role of talk radio, cable news networks, and the more recent phenomena of special-interest blogs, websites, and citizen journalists in creating the current media climate. While conceding that advocacy journalism is undoubtedly popular and has some positive aspects, the author also points out its many negative features. Perhaps the most important of these is its polarizing effect on society. Skewed will give readers the tools to critique the media, to see both sides of any issue, and to become better informed citizens and voters.
Product Details
Publisher | Prometheus Books |
Publish Date | August 16, 2016 |
Pages | 280 |
Language | English |
Type | |
EAN/UPC | 9781633881655 |
Dimensions | 9.4 X 6.2 X 1.3 inches | 1.3 pounds |
About the Author
Larry Atkins is a journalist, a lawyer, and a university journalism professor. He is an adjunct professor of journalism at Temple University, Arcadia University, and Montgomery County Community College. He has written more than four hundred articles, op-eds, and essays for many publications, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Baltimore Sun, the Chicago Tribune, the Christian Science Monitor, the Plain Dealer (Cleveland), the Dallas Morning News, the Detroit News, Huffingtonpost.com, the Los Angeles Daily News, Newsday, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and many others. He has been interviewed by many media outlets, including National Public Radio. He is the author of Larry the Liberal Lawyer Lashes Out and contributed a chapter to The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing.
Reviews
""It's not surprising that as a media literacy advocate I believe Skewed is an essential read. With the information overload we experience daily, there has never been a more important time to reflect on bias, polarization, and objectivity in journalism. Skewed takes us on a deep dive into these issues, which are vital to our democracy today. It asks important questions and makes us think about the news we consume and create. I hope this book sparks conversation in every classroom in the United States." --MICHELLE CIULLA LIPKIN, executive director, National Association for Media Literacy Education "Hard news is passing through a difficult period of change. Print news is fading, television journalism has become little more than profit-seeking entertainment masquerading as real news, and meanwhile the World Wide Web caters to every bias and delusion. All this comes, of course, at the expense of truth, reality, and an informed public. Skewed is an urgent, invaluable, must-read book for everyone who consumes news of any kind. Well-written and thoroughly enlightening, this book is packed with many brilliant insights and practical tips. Atkins shows us how best to navigate through the deceptive, dishonest, and socially destructive jungle that is contemporary news." --GUY P. HARRISON, author of Good Thinking and 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True "In the digital age, when we have the world at our fingertips--and often in the palm of our hand--it's essential that we be critical consumers of information. That starts by understanding the role of journalism, its place in our democracy, and how we arrived at this polarized point in time. Larry Atkins provides a comprehensive history and analysis of the impact of journalism, in a transparent, readable, and rather-objective fashion. This isn't information that should be absorbed only by journalism students or media literacy scholars. This is information that is relevant to anyone who believes in liberty and aspires to live in a just, tranquil, and prosperous society." --GEORGE MILLER, associate professor of journalism, Temple University "Skewed is packed with practical information, deep insights, and Larry Atkins's grounded common sense. Highly recommended!" --JONATHAN MABERRY, New York Times-bestselling author of Patient Zero and Kill Switch "For two decades, Americans trusted one man, Walter Cronkite, to tell them what was happening in the world. His sign-off line, 'And that's the way it is, ' was a nightly reminder of his journalistic objectivity. Today, with our seemingly unlimited news sources, we have to settle for . . . 'truthiness.' Larry Atkins's book Skewed shows us how to get past the talking heads, the yelling, and the snarky reporting to understand the reality behind the story." --DAN GIANCATERINO, Education Services Manager, Jenkins Law Library "A useful account of a valuable dimension of contemporary journalism--a must-read." --SHEKHAR DESHPANDE, professor, Department of Media and Communications, Arcadia University
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate