As W. Lance Bennett points out in his book News: The Politics of Illusion, Americans today are awash in news from newspapers, publications of every variety, books, broadcast television stations, radio stations, and cable, including 24-hour cable new outlets such as CNN, C-Span, and CNN Headline News. Yet, the question is raised as to how trustworthy all this news is and especially as to how true a picture of society is presented in these many news broadcasts. The question is raised in part because of the growing apathy apparent in the electorate and because of opinion polls which indicate that "many citizens--perhaps the majority--live in a state of confusion and ignorance about government and political issues" (Bennett 1). Bennett sees this as a paradox and explores it in his book in an extended discussion specifically geared to the issue of politics and how it is conveyed in the media, including issues of possible media bias, manipulation by politicians, the involvement of journalists in the political process, and the effects on the public.
Bennett begins with the statement that the news, while all around us, is also superficial. Television news dominates today, and television news in particular tends toward the superficial. Even on stories of substance, television news only has a limited time in which to present the facts. In spite of this, however, we are more and more dependent on the news. The dissemination of the news is seen as a vital function in a democratic society, so vital that the Founding Fathers embodied the principle of a free press in the Bill of Rights. Bennett's decision to concentrate on the nexus of politics and the media is understandable, since one of the reasons for the emphasis on a free press is to have an informed electorate capable of making rational decisions in the voting booth. The problem as Bennett sees it is that the media is not serving its function because the electorate is not well info...