the media market (McChesney, 37). Furthermore, he views media policies as being the result of a neoliberal, antidemocratic ideology that began with the Reagan administration but that has been equally embraced by Republicans and Democrats (McChesney, 49).
In the second chapter, the author addresses U.S. journalism, which he points out has failed in its primary duties because of having been a profit-driven enterprise for over a century, one that is antagonistic to true professional journalism (McChesney, 57). The big newspapers that carried advertising all but wiped out the smaller partisan papers that could not or would not compete for advertising, leaving the larger newspapersÆ content unchallenged by dissenting opinions (McChesney, 60). This crisis was compounded by the sudden flourishing of ôyellow journalism,ö characterized by sensationalism and fabricationùa development that arose out of competition for greater profits (McChesney, 61). In response to the crisis, the major publishers subdued coverage of related debates, claimed the First Amendment, and used the self-regulation platform, the latter prompting the establishment of journalism schools ostensibly designed to train up unbiased journalists that the readers could trust (McChesney, 63). Yet, journalists have not made the public aware of information they should be privy to, such as the real reasons that the United States has been involved in its recent wars (McChesney, 74). The author relates the failure of journalism to deliver the requisite information to its commercialism (McChesney, 78). TodayÆs journalists, who are supposed to be unbiased, promote commercial products and report news on their owners through rose-colored gla
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