Robert Waterman McChesney

The influence of media on society is unquestioned. Its reach penetrates nearly every corner of the world and every aspect of life. But it has also been a contested realm, embodying class politics and the interests of monopoly capital. In The Political Economy of Media, Robert W. McChesney provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic and political powers that are being mobilized to consolidate private control of media with increasing profit - all at the expense of democracy. He examines the monopolistic competition that has created a global media that is ever more concentrated and centralized; reveals why questions about the ownership of commercial U.S. media remain off limits within the political culture; how private ownership of media leads to the degradation of journalism and suppression of genuine debate; and why corporate rule threatens democracy by failing to provide the means for an educated and informed citizenry. The Political Economy of Media also highlights resistance to corporate media over the last century, including the battle between broadcasters and the public in the 1920s and 1930s and the ongoing media reform movement today.

"In this book, John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney, two of the country's leading media analysts and founders of the national media reform group Free Press, dissect the abysmal coverage of the Iraq War and the 2004 presidential election, showing how these media failures expose the decline in resources and standards for political journalism, the organized campaign by the political right to control the news cycle, and the ascendancy of infotainment. Tragedy and Farce helps us to navigate among swift boats and Humvees, from the machinations of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group to the dismissals of the Downing Street memo. Ultimately, Nichols and McChesney argue that the media crisis is not due to incompetent or corrupt journalists but to corrupt policy making that has allowed the media to become the private domain of billionaire investors and massive corporations. In our highly concentrated media system it has become commercially and politically irrational to do the kind of journalism a self-governing society requires."--BOOK JACKET.

Examines the media system in the U.S., discussing corporate control and hyper-commercialism, and argues that informed public participation in media policy making is needed to ensure the health of American democracy and culture.

"The Global Media describes in detail the recent rapid growth and crossborder activities and linkages of an industry largely composed of international conglomerates. It assesses the significance of the ongoing deregulation and convergence of global media and telecommunications systems and the rise of the internet. The authors argue that the most important features of this globalization process are the implantation, consolidation and concentration of advertisement-based commercial media and the parallel weakening of the 'public sphere'. It is contended that the United States provides the evolutionary model toward which the global media system is moving, and the history and characteristics of the U.S. System are described, along with developments in seven other countries around the world. Finally, the authors evaluate the defenses of the ongoing globalization process and discuss the forms of local, national and global resistance that have emerged. Written by two of the leading media scholars in America, this book provides the most up-to-date, concise survey of the global media industry available and has become essential reading for all those interested in media studies."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

"McChesney.... has produced a [book] that, in the tradition of Tom Paine, systematically examines and refutes the myths that provide the 'impenetrable ideological armor' protecting corporate media from criticism.—In These Times "Robert McChesney has sounded a compelling warning that corporate control of the mass media has made ominous inroads into our democracy.—Ben Bagdikian. "McChesney's work has been of extraordinary importance...It should be read with care and concern by people who care about freedom and basic rights." —Noam Chomsky

Looks at the relationship between economic power and the digital world, encouraging readers to fight back against the monopolies that are making the Internet less democratic.

"In response to mounting concerns about the future of the press, an outpouring of lively debate and proposals for alternative models of journalism has exploded across journals of opinion, the blogosphere, and academic publications. Despite this proliferation, a comprehensive overview of this new terrain has been noticeably missing-just what will the world look like without newspapers. Will the Last Reporter Please Turn Out the Lights offers the first roadmap to this crucially important new debate, in a concise and accessible introduction to the current schools of thought emerging in response to the journalism crisis, with contributions by the leading media analysts writing today"--

"In the United States and much of the world there is a palpable depression about the prospect of overcoming the downward spiral created by the tyranny of wealth and privilege and establishing a truly democratic and sustainable society. It threatens to become self-fulfilling. In this trailblazing new book, award-winning author Robert W. McChesney argues that the weight of the present is blinding people to the changing nature and the tremendous possibilities of the historical moment we inhabit. In Blowing the Roof Off the Twenty-First Century, he uses a sophisticated political economic analysis to delineate the recent trajectory of capitalism and its ongoing degeneration. In exciting new research McChesney reveals how notions of democratic media are becoming central to activists around the world seeking to establish post-capitalist democracies. Blowing the Roof Off the Twenty-First Century also takes a fresh look at recent progressive political campaigns in the United States. While conveying complex ideas in a lively and accessible manner, McChesney demonstrates a very different and far superior world is not only necessary, but possible"--

The consequences of the technological revolution are about to hit hard: unemployment will spike as new technologies replace labor in the manufacturing, service, and professional sectors of an economy that is already struggling. The end of work as we know it will hit at the worst moment imaginable: as capitalism fosters permanent stagnation, when the labor market is in decrepit shape, with declining wages, expanding poverty, and scorching inequality. Only the dramatic democratization of our economy can address the existential challenges we now face. Yet, the US political process is so dominated by billionaires and corporate special interests, by corruption and monopoly, that it stymies not just democracy but progress. The great challenge of these times is to ensure that the tremendous benefits of technological progress are employed to serve the whole of humanity, rather than to enrich the wealthy few. Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols argue that the United States needs a new economy in which revolutionary technologies are applied to effectively address environmental and social problems and used to rejuvenate and extend democratic institutions. Based on intense reporting, rich historical analysis, and deep understanding of the technological and social changes that are unfolding, they propose a bold strategy for democratizing our digital destiny--before it's too late--and unleashing the real power of the Internet, and of humanity.

"Rarely have two writers spoken so candidly about the intersection where the lives they live meets the art they practice. That these two writers happen to be Kurt Vonnegut and Lee Stringer make this a historic and joyous occasion." "The setting was a bookstore in New York City, the date Thursday, October 1, 1998. Before a crowd of several hundred, Vonnegut and Stringer took up humanity, writing, salvation, art, and the challenge of living from day to day." "A book for Vonnegut fans, Stringer fans, and anyone interested in why the simple act of writing things down can be more important than the amount of memory in our computers, Like Shaking Hands with God is filled with surprises."--BOOK JACKET.