First published 2020
Emmy Award winning journalist Sharyl Attkisson examines how America's most trusted news organizations have abandoned factual reporting in favor of predetermined narratives. She documents how media outlets massage, shape, and manipulate information before it reaches audiences, sometimes censoring stories entirely. Attkisson spent four years collecting evidence of this transformation, interviewing top executives and reporters from ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC. These insiders reveal their concerns about the death of traditional journalism, transcending partisan boundaries. The book explores how a broad media campaign has convinced Americans to accept and even demand censorship over genuine reporting. Attkisson shows how this undermines public confidence in news while allowing others to curate information and determine truth for citizens. She examines journalism schools that now teach students to prioritize personal narratives over reality. The work analyzes propaganda techniques, persistent false narratives, the dangerous mixing of facts with opinion, and abandoned journalism ethics. Attkisson reveals an Orwellian redefinition of news reporting itself, offering readers insight into the forces reshaping American media and the implications for democratic discourse.
Genres: politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, journalism, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: insider-perspective, investigative-reporting
Period: 21st-Century
Audio CD · HarperCollins