What do you think?
Rate this book
Uncovered: How the Media Got Cozy with Power, Abandoned Its Principles, and Lost the People
America’s corporate news media is less trusted than ever – and for good reason. How did we get here? And what’s the real story behind this embarrassing mess?
The fourth estate is supposed to be a conduit to the people and a check on power. Instead, we have a bunch of geographically isolated, introspection-free, cozy-with-power, egomaniacal journalists thirsty for elite approval.
No one understands these problems (and people) better than Steve Krakauer, one of America’s sharpest media critics. He has spent years getting to know some of the most influential players in the industry. This fascinating book is what he’s learned -- and why every American should care.
In Uncovered, Krakauer gives readers an extended peek behind the curtain of the media challenges in America today. The book dives deep into some of the most important and egregious examples of the elite censorship collusion racket, like how tech suppression and media fear led to the New York Post-Hunter Biden email debacle before the 2020 election. Krakauer takes readers inside CNN after the shock Trump election, inside the New York Times after the Tom Cotton op-ed backlash, inside ESPN after the shift away from sports-only coverage, and more - revealing never-before-seen details about the press over the past five years.
Krakauer pulls from his own experience as a former CNN executive and through dozens of exclusive on-the-record interviews with media members in and around the industry--from Tucker Carlson and others at Fox News, to journalists at the New York Times, MSNBC, and CNN.
This is a rational, independent (and fun) inside look at the broken news industry in America - assessing where everything went wrong, and how to fix it. This is not an “I hate the media” book. Krakauer loves the media and wants it to be better. But it has a long way to go, and admitting the problems is the first step. In Uncovered, the long road back to trust and relevance begins.
The fourth estate is supposed to be a conduit to the people and a check on power. Instead, we have a bunch of geographically isolated, introspection-free, cozy-with-power, egomaniacal journalists thirsty for elite approval.
No one understands these problems (and people) better than Steve Krakauer, one of America’s sharpest media critics. He has spent years getting to know some of the most influential players in the industry. This fascinating book is what he’s learned -- and why every American should care.
In Uncovered, Krakauer gives readers an extended peek behind the curtain of the media challenges in America today. The book dives deep into some of the most important and egregious examples of the elite censorship collusion racket, like how tech suppression and media fear led to the New York Post-Hunter Biden email debacle before the 2020 election. Krakauer takes readers inside CNN after the shock Trump election, inside the New York Times after the Tom Cotton op-ed backlash, inside ESPN after the shift away from sports-only coverage, and more - revealing never-before-seen details about the press over the past five years.
Krakauer pulls from his own experience as a former CNN executive and through dozens of exclusive on-the-record interviews with media members in and around the industry--from Tucker Carlson and others at Fox News, to journalists at the New York Times, MSNBC, and CNN.
This is a rational, independent (and fun) inside look at the broken news industry in America - assessing where everything went wrong, and how to fix it. This is not an “I hate the media” book. Krakauer loves the media and wants it to be better. But it has a long way to go, and admitting the problems is the first step. In Uncovered, the long road back to trust and relevance begins.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published February 21, 2023
69 people are currently reading
2200 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 27, 2023
We have a problem with the media. We know that. We knew that for a very long time. Did we do anything about this? No. Nobody cared, nobody cares and that´s why instead of witnessing progress, we see only degradation.
Now, the author, thankfully, cares. And he points out the biggest problems within the industry, such as a geographical bias, coziness with power ( meaning that big guys hung out with big guys and they´re all into media+business+politics=BIAS and agenda), cancel culture, anti-speech activism, etc.
I agree with pretty much everything he says. I´m not sure about the geographical bias, because I don´t live in US, so I can´t comment on that.
The tech companies are awful, they have done probably more bad than good (my opinion). The way they have manipulated people during the pandemic was truly horrifying and they should be held accountable for it. The author gives some examples on the matter, but I will give you one too. When the pandemic broke out I was in Spain. I saw on Spanish tv a woman who was a scientist (the bubble speech was gone before I could read her name and full title). She yelled at one of the government men that the scientists are completely ignored in this country, that the government doesn´t care about them etc. She yelled that they happily pay a footballer a few millions euros every month while scientists get barely 1800 euros a month. She yelled: go and ask THEM (footballers) for help! I was stunned. I saw that piece on Facebook in the evening the very same day. I shared it and half and less than half an hour later I got a message saying that the video is fake so they removed it!!! The same happened with all my friends who shared it too.
Another story. A few months before the pandemic I was doing a research about face masks, their types, uses, benefits and disadvantages. I found two articles in the Lancet, one was bout 5 years old and the other about 7 months old saying, that masks can be dangerous, depending on many factors, but if you don't have to use them, don't. If you do then for no more than 20 minutes. I shared these articles and Facebook once again removed the content.
Back to the book.
There are a lot of interesting things in here, I think I especially like the case studies, because things get real, if you know what I mean.
I´m happy to say that it´s not all gloom and doom. The author gives as hope by suggesting some ideas as solutions. He might be right, who knows?
Me likey.
Now, the author, thankfully, cares. And he points out the biggest problems within the industry, such as a geographical bias, coziness with power ( meaning that big guys hung out with big guys and they´re all into media+business+politics=BIAS and agenda), cancel culture, anti-speech activism, etc.
I agree with pretty much everything he says. I´m not sure about the geographical bias, because I don´t live in US, so I can´t comment on that.
The tech companies are awful, they have done probably more bad than good (my opinion). The way they have manipulated people during the pandemic was truly horrifying and they should be held accountable for it. The author gives some examples on the matter, but I will give you one too. When the pandemic broke out I was in Spain. I saw on Spanish tv a woman who was a scientist (the bubble speech was gone before I could read her name and full title). She yelled at one of the government men that the scientists are completely ignored in this country, that the government doesn´t care about them etc. She yelled that they happily pay a footballer a few millions euros every month while scientists get barely 1800 euros a month. She yelled: go and ask THEM (footballers) for help! I was stunned. I saw that piece on Facebook in the evening the very same day. I shared it and half and less than half an hour later I got a message saying that the video is fake so they removed it!!! The same happened with all my friends who shared it too.
Another story. A few months before the pandemic I was doing a research about face masks, their types, uses, benefits and disadvantages. I found two articles in the Lancet, one was bout 5 years old and the other about 7 months old saying, that masks can be dangerous, depending on many factors, but if you don't have to use them, don't. If you do then for no more than 20 minutes. I shared these articles and Facebook once again removed the content.
Back to the book.
There are a lot of interesting things in here, I think I especially like the case studies, because things get real, if you know what I mean.
I´m happy to say that it´s not all gloom and doom. The author gives as hope by suggesting some ideas as solutions. He might be right, who knows?
Me likey.
February 8, 2023
In this book the author Steve Krakauer explores the medias manipulation with information. Whether that be political geographical or whatever he believes this is a new trend from Twitter‘s handling of the Hunter Biden emails to a plethora of other events he even explains the difference between that coverage The coverage of Hillary Clinton‘s emails. When reading a book I like to read books that are non-biased and have both sides represented equally but the more I read the more I could tell what the authors opinion was and although I’m not going to stay did hear what I will say is he gave more credit to Fox News and even put comments praising the owners of Fox News then he did any other publication. Now having said that I must say I totally agree with the author and despite our differing opinions I think he gave us a valid argument for the medias manipulation of information. I do think it goes back further than just the Trump campaign though as far back as the revolutionary war newspapers only printed flattering articles that bolstered their opinion and although I get it the glaring differences of today’s media as opposed to back then I just think the media has always been manipulated by the owners and the powers that big. I do think this book was really good though and enjoyed reading it. From the coronavirus to the Trump campaign nothing in this book that happened in recent history isn’t discussed and I think anyone who loves to keep up on current events new trends ET see should definitely read uncovered by Stephen Krakauer it is an informed and well researched and no one in the book is quoted without them being credited which I totally appreciated. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
April 22, 2023
Krakauer covers all of the problems we’ve known about the media fora while and covers the recent exacerbation in sensationalism and cancel culture.
I appreciate him putting this together for people that may not recognize these issues and the opportunity for independent organizations to fill the “objective” role we haven’t seen from media majors.
I appreciate him putting this together for people that may not recognize these issues and the opportunity for independent organizations to fill the “objective” role we haven’t seen from media majors.
March 20, 2023
This book was ok, it described the current media situation pretty well but not really any new revelations. I am sure that most CNN/MSNBC viewer will think this is a conservative rant but it's not. It is a fairly clear view of media bias on both sides, what the structural/incentive issues are and how Twitter has changed the rules of the game making celebrities of those who post the most inhuman posts (especially about Trump). It's all about activism now, not reporting news.
There is hope, Krakauer writes, in the independent media. This is where I get about 99.2% of my news. But unfortunately, the reality of the news conglomerates buying up and absorbing these outlets is a real and present danger.
I must admit, I wonder if the rupture of our nation is repairable. I tend to think not but then what do I know.
There is hope, Krakauer writes, in the independent media. This is where I get about 99.2% of my news. But unfortunately, the reality of the news conglomerates buying up and absorbing these outlets is a real and present danger.
I must admit, I wonder if the rupture of our nation is repairable. I tend to think not but then what do I know.
March 18, 2024
The fact that some journalism has devolved into juvenile, unprofessional attacks on anyone who happens to hold differing opinions on DEI metrics and how civil society should function should be apparent to everyone. Krakauer examines the path to this degeneracy which has seemingly transpired over the course of the past ten years. He explores the phenomenon of CNN and its descent into the lies and pettiness which was its ultimate undoing. Even once-vaunted newspapers like the New York Times have lost credibility with the general public due to slanted journalism that no longer is objective. Krakauer speaks with other journalists to determine the reason for this shift and what can possibly be done to correct it. Obviously, the enmity for President Trump was one of the catalysts for this change, but the options to improve the media environment are limited. The groupthink mentality of the media can only be changed once they venture out of their Acela corridor (East coast) bubbles to explore alternate viewpoints, the veracity of which will astonish many.
March 6, 2023
This book shares the shift of how the media started to operate over the past decade or so and provides case studies to support each claim. Shifting from objective journalism to providing personal opinions that are influenced by many factors, including location bias (major news hubs being NYC, DC, and LA). I found myself nodding along and felt validated in how I consume news (as a skeptic with a desire to fact check before believing what I read). There is a level of influence that powerful people have on what and how things are presented in the news. I think this book tries to expose that in a way that is as objective as possible. I strongly recommend that people read this and form their own opinion.
July 14, 2025
Book Review of Uncovered: How the Media Got Cozy with Power, Abandoned Its Principles, and Lost the People by Steve Krakauer
Steve Krakauer’s Uncovered tackles bias in the media, which has become a crisis of journalistic ethics. Krakauer* is an executive producer on the Megyn Kelly Show. He has worked at CNN, Fox News, NBC and The Blaze, a conservative television network and website (formerly CRTV).
I enjoyed reading this book. It is well written, fast paced, tightly organized and gives great insight into the working of the mainstream media. Until I sat down to write this review I had a very favorable view of it. But as I organized my thoughts and began to write down what points the book had missed, I came up with quite a list.
He ignores completely:
It’s as if he is ignoring 80% of the problem and doing a very thorough job covering 20% of the problem.
He starts with a brief history of changes in the media from the 1970’s to now. There has been a terrible loss of trust in the media. According to Gallup polls in the 1970’s 68 to 70% of the public had trust in the media but by 2021 that had fallen to 36%. Krakauer blames some of this on geographic bias; most media, which he calls Acela media (for the train that speeds down the East Coast from New York City to Washington D.C.) are based in these two areas. They are not often in rural areas, and tend to look at most of the country as somewhat backwards hicks. He writes, “We get helicopter journalism– touching down in a community, hitting a diner or two to grab some local colorful quotes, and jetting back to the NYC newsroom to file the report. The story doesn’t delve beyond the surface or, worse, misses the story entirely.” An example of missing the story entirely would be the lack of coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop prior to the election.
Other problems he sees are laziness and a lack of competence, for instance science writers during Covid could not understand the science and did not know what questions to ask. They accepted the government’s pronouncements without any pushback. He says that in journalism today there is more of a negative consequence for covering a story from an unpopular angle than for publishing something that is incorrect. He has a graphic about it.
Additionally, the media has a lack of introspection. They do not examine why they get stories wrong.
With the election of President Trump the media seemed to take the opposite of whatever stance he took. The journalists seemed to start to become part of the story instead of covering the story. “It’s the fury of the interaction that becomes news.”
Krakauer also says that the financial incentive structure of the news media is broken. I found this part very interesting although he is a little mushy with the numbers, fond of big pronouncements but no dollar figures to give as examples. He says, “the old way of making money in the media has evaporated forever.” About social media he writes, “Some media outlets dove headlong into that world and attached their success to the whims of these tech giants. When Facebook incentivized links to websites, they adjusted their strategy. When Facebook said it was time for video, the publications followed suit. Then when Facebook decided that actually people want to see less of media outlets in their feed, the revenues started drying up.”
Krakauer says, “But now that the system has been broken, the incentive structure is no longer solely based on the economics of a decision. In fact, decisions will get made that are, simply, bad for business. But the incentives in this now broken structure reward bad decisions other ways.” Here again I would say this is because the hand of government, the CIA’s propaganda, is on the scale.
However, Krakauer, chooses the example of ESPN to illustrate what he means. Sports programs have lost audiences because people can turn quickly to the internet to see sports updates, and scores. ESPN, which has been one of the most diverse media outlets, had several scandals and suspensions trying to keep politics out of the sports news. Will Cain, a conservative, left the network and Rachel Nichols, an NBA host, (politically liberal) was branded a racist, when she was secretly recorded complaining about losing NBA Finals host position to Maria Taylor. Both Nichols and Taylor ended up leaving ESPN. These types of decisions may have led to a decrease in audience share for ESPN but there are no numbers cited to back this up. A cursory search showed that in 2011 ESPN had 100.1 million subscribers and in 2023 they had 74 million subscribers. Is loss of subscribers tied to loss of income? Maybe. I think he could probably prove his point if he could follow the numbers.
Should you read it, yes. Should you buy it? Maybe, if you write in your books, you’re going to be tempted, and might forget it’s a library book. I don’t regret my $26.00. (You can purchase it for $19.99 at Amazon if you follow this link.) But you have to wonder why he completely ignored the CIA’s blatant propaganda machine.
And it’s an interesting title choice.
*Not to be confused with Jon Krakauer (no relation) the author of Into Thin Air, about the 1996 Everest Mountaineering Tragedy, and Into the Wild.
Steve Krakauer’s Uncovered tackles bias in the media, which has become a crisis of journalistic ethics. Krakauer* is an executive producer on the Megyn Kelly Show. He has worked at CNN, Fox News, NBC and The Blaze, a conservative television network and website (formerly CRTV).
I enjoyed reading this book. It is well written, fast paced, tightly organized and gives great insight into the working of the mainstream media. Until I sat down to write this review I had a very favorable view of it. But as I organized my thoughts and began to write down what points the book had missed, I came up with quite a list.
He ignores completely:
The CIA’s Propaganda Machine
Former CIA officers publicly working as “journalists”
CIA officers working undercover as “journalists”
Journalists bribed/influenced to publish propaganda
Journalists related to CIA (and getting prized jobs because of this)
CIA actively harassing, sabotaging, and murdering free journalists and editors
NSA
Edward Snowden
The Imprisonment of Julian Assange, for publishing US war crimes (at the time he published the book and when I originally wrote this review Julian Assange was still in prison)
It’s as if he is ignoring 80% of the problem and doing a very thorough job covering 20% of the problem.
He starts with a brief history of changes in the media from the 1970’s to now. There has been a terrible loss of trust in the media. According to Gallup polls in the 1970’s 68 to 70% of the public had trust in the media but by 2021 that had fallen to 36%. Krakauer blames some of this on geographic bias; most media, which he calls Acela media (for the train that speeds down the East Coast from New York City to Washington D.C.) are based in these two areas. They are not often in rural areas, and tend to look at most of the country as somewhat backwards hicks. He writes, “We get helicopter journalism– touching down in a community, hitting a diner or two to grab some local colorful quotes, and jetting back to the NYC newsroom to file the report. The story doesn’t delve beyond the surface or, worse, misses the story entirely.” An example of missing the story entirely would be the lack of coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop prior to the election.
Other problems he sees are laziness and a lack of competence, for instance science writers during Covid could not understand the science and did not know what questions to ask. They accepted the government’s pronouncements without any pushback. He says that in journalism today there is more of a negative consequence for covering a story from an unpopular angle than for publishing something that is incorrect. He has a graphic about it.
Additionally, the media has a lack of introspection. They do not examine why they get stories wrong.
With the election of President Trump the media seemed to take the opposite of whatever stance he took. The journalists seemed to start to become part of the story instead of covering the story. “It’s the fury of the interaction that becomes news.”
Krakauer also says that the financial incentive structure of the news media is broken. I found this part very interesting although he is a little mushy with the numbers, fond of big pronouncements but no dollar figures to give as examples. He says, “the old way of making money in the media has evaporated forever.” About social media he writes, “Some media outlets dove headlong into that world and attached their success to the whims of these tech giants. When Facebook incentivized links to websites, they adjusted their strategy. When Facebook said it was time for video, the publications followed suit. Then when Facebook decided that actually people want to see less of media outlets in their feed, the revenues started drying up.”
Krakauer says, “But now that the system has been broken, the incentive structure is no longer solely based on the economics of a decision. In fact, decisions will get made that are, simply, bad for business. But the incentives in this now broken structure reward bad decisions other ways.” Here again I would say this is because the hand of government, the CIA’s propaganda, is on the scale.
However, Krakauer, chooses the example of ESPN to illustrate what he means. Sports programs have lost audiences because people can turn quickly to the internet to see sports updates, and scores. ESPN, which has been one of the most diverse media outlets, had several scandals and suspensions trying to keep politics out of the sports news. Will Cain, a conservative, left the network and Rachel Nichols, an NBA host, (politically liberal) was branded a racist, when she was secretly recorded complaining about losing NBA Finals host position to Maria Taylor. Both Nichols and Taylor ended up leaving ESPN. These types of decisions may have led to a decrease in audience share for ESPN but there are no numbers cited to back this up. A cursory search showed that in 2011 ESPN had 100.1 million subscribers and in 2023 they had 74 million subscribers. Is loss of subscribers tied to loss of income? Maybe. I think he could probably prove his point if he could follow the numbers.
Should you read it, yes. Should you buy it? Maybe, if you write in your books, you’re going to be tempted, and might forget it’s a library book. I don’t regret my $26.00. (You can purchase it for $19.99 at Amazon if you follow this link.) But you have to wonder why he completely ignored the CIA’s blatant propaganda machine.
And it’s an interesting title choice.
*Not to be confused with Jon Krakauer (no relation) the author of Into Thin Air, about the 1996 Everest Mountaineering Tragedy, and Into the Wild.
January 3, 2023
Solid Expose Of Media Bias From An 'Inside Man'. This is one of those looks from the inside of a controversial institution - the so-called "main stream media" - where the insider points out that almost no matter what your reasoning is on claiming "media bias", you're most likely at least partially wrong. Not that there isn't bias - Krakauer pretty clearly shows that there is quite a bit of it. But more in how a math student can arrive at the correct answer despite somehow getting crucial or even every step of the way completely incorrect when showing their work. Indeed, as an expose of media bias, this is both one of the more balanced and more incisive books I've read on the topic - and I've read at least a few, as well as having my own thoughts and experiences on the margins of at least local news reporting. The reasons for the three stars ultimately come down to two single star deductions which are both fairly common in my reviews: One star was lost for dearth of bibliography. Here, we clock in at around 14% bibliography, which is short of the more standard 20-30% in my experience with similar advance reader copies. (Indeed, even texts I get much earlier than the two months or so I got this one routinely have at least that, and sometimes as much as nearly 50%.) The other deduction is also common in my reviews, and is because of the frequent discussion of COVID. While I completely understand that topic's relevance to some of the trends and timeframes Krakauer discusses here, I also have a longstanding rule automatically deducting a star for any discussion of it, as I still would rather avoid the topic altogether in my reading. Still, for what it is, this book is quite good, and many similarly objective-ish readers will likely rate it more along the lines of 4-5 stars. Very much recommended.
March 6, 2023
The book offers interesting insights and is strong on analysis. However, it leaves a bit to be desired in terms of prescriptive steps to solve some of the problems that have been identified. One specific element that could be corrected would consist of Pulitzer Prizes (which have become a self-congratulatory exercise by the Mainstream Media). The Pulitzer Prize Committee needs to be reconstituted and made more representative. It also needs to look at its policy of revocation. When a story wins a Pulitzer - and is subsequently found to be incorrect or based on shaky information - that prize needs to be revoked. If the Pulitzer Prize for Walter Duranty is allowed to stand, then there is in effect no quality control and no effective revocation policy (which suggests that the Pulitzer Prize Committee is of the view that, unlike the rest of us, it is incapable of making a mistake). We all need to be better educated about the Media - not just about the Media itself, but about our proclivity for being manipulated (at the High School level, we should learn about the Milgram Shock Experiment and about the Asch Elevator Experiment - to realize how easily we can be "steered"). It is an ongoing mystery why we are not taught about such things - well, maybe not, maybe it is to the advantage of those who want to do the steering, including those in the Media.
June 21, 2023
I struggled to rate this one. The information presented was good and I thought the author did a pretty good job of being reasonable and evidence based as an insider who seems to genuinely want to see reforms in his beloved industry that literally no one trusts anymore.
My complaint is with how disjointed and all over the place the book was. Perhaps it's the editors fault, but this book was a bit of a slog to read. From case studies that seemed to back up different points than the author was making in the moment, to introducing insider concepts without helping us understand some of them, to long, rambling quotes from interviews - sidetracks and all - it definitely became tough to care what was being shared at some points.
I think this book would be the most useful for people that are just waking up to the idea that the "Acela media" (as Krakauer calls it, a term he likes better than the "mainstream media") is absolutely overflowing with propaganda and lies, as it will introduce you to a bunch of new things you probably experienced, but show them in a new light. If you're already aware how bad the media is, then just skip this one knowing that you're absolutely right, even if you don't know all the insider details.
Rated 3 stars, right down the middle, for a cross between great info in a very-challenging-to-digest manner.
My complaint is with how disjointed and all over the place the book was. Perhaps it's the editors fault, but this book was a bit of a slog to read. From case studies that seemed to back up different points than the author was making in the moment, to introducing insider concepts without helping us understand some of them, to long, rambling quotes from interviews - sidetracks and all - it definitely became tough to care what was being shared at some points.
I think this book would be the most useful for people that are just waking up to the idea that the "Acela media" (as Krakauer calls it, a term he likes better than the "mainstream media") is absolutely overflowing with propaganda and lies, as it will introduce you to a bunch of new things you probably experienced, but show them in a new light. If you're already aware how bad the media is, then just skip this one knowing that you're absolutely right, even if you don't know all the insider details.
Rated 3 stars, right down the middle, for a cross between great info in a very-challenging-to-digest manner.
March 26, 2024
Interesting take on why the "news" is so out of whack now. Felt like he was gingerly walking a line though and has friends in all the major outlets so didn't want to be TOO provocative.
- "Fourth Estate” refers to the press, or news media. In America, the Fourth Estate is often referred to in contrast to the three branches of government.
- News outlets are prone to" geographic" bias more than political per se (biggest hubs are DC, New York, etc etc vs Ohio, Kansas etc etc where the "real" people are)
- Glance Journalism is loosely when a media outlet glances at a story, often one that confirms its prior convictions, puts it out into the world, and when it’s proven false or ultimately becomes clear that it wasn’t true, the correction never gets a particularly high amount of attention.
And in the final chapter....
- "... if they can embrace an intellectual diversity in the way they’ve embraced diversity through DEI initiatives, they’ll find there’s a path to have it both ways."
- "Fourth Estate” refers to the press, or news media. In America, the Fourth Estate is often referred to in contrast to the three branches of government.
- News outlets are prone to" geographic" bias more than political per se (biggest hubs are DC, New York, etc etc vs Ohio, Kansas etc etc where the "real" people are)
- Glance Journalism is loosely when a media outlet glances at a story, often one that confirms its prior convictions, puts it out into the world, and when it’s proven false or ultimately becomes clear that it wasn’t true, the correction never gets a particularly high amount of attention.
And in the final chapter....
- "... if they can embrace an intellectual diversity in the way they’ve embraced diversity through DEI initiatives, they’ll find there’s a path to have it both ways."
July 7, 2024
While I agree with the premise of the book, I found three sources of disappointment. I didn't learn all that much new, however, other readers obviously might have their minds blown. Second, while the author does provide some structure to his arguments I felt the content was too scattered and not persuasive as it could have been. Lastly, the book contains a lot of quotes from other members of the news media which were seemingly all pulled from interviews. This makes the content less cogent than what I am accustomed to in a book. If I had wanted to hear someone's spoken thoughts about this topic I would have listened to some podcasts. Instead, this was a bit like reading a transcript of a podcast--an inefficient way to learn.
July 10, 2023
This story explains how absolutely messed up the majority of the members of the U.S. press are in America. It explains a lot about why they are so biased and why so many have so little trust in them. The author has worked at many news outlets, so he tells the story from a balanced perspective, based on actual experiences.
This is truly a well written book. I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking the truth about what the "Acela Media" (his description) is up to and why they are so out of touch from American citizens that live outside the NYC, Washington D.C. metro areas.
Simply said, a pleasure to read!!
This is truly a well written book. I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking the truth about what the "Acela Media" (his description) is up to and why they are so out of touch from American citizens that live outside the NYC, Washington D.C. metro areas.
Simply said, a pleasure to read!!
March 14, 2023
This book was filled with examples of media bias, suppression of stories, and censorship of staff. He offered some good diagnoses at the beginning of the book but I would have liked more focus on the larger problems and how to resolve them. I really enjoyed his examination of how CNN and ESPN have changed over the last eight years - especially his discussion of incentive structures. But fewer examples and more analysis would have made it a better book, in my opinion.
August 11, 2023
Insightful Take on Journalism
Very insightful view on the current journalistic landscape. The author provides well researched and documented footnotes for the material. The avoidance of anonymous sources is a pleasant departure from the background and anonymous sources that seem so prevalent today.
Very insightful view on the current journalistic landscape. The author provides well researched and documented footnotes for the material. The avoidance of anonymous sources is a pleasant departure from the background and anonymous sources that seem so prevalent today.
February 27, 2024
This was a great audiobook. Well produced. Loved that he included audio from others like Tucker instead of just quoting. Most importantly, this was clearly done in an unbiased way possible with a true desire for improving issues with today's media that has been at the center of many problems we face in this world.
July 20, 2023
Excellent book. Some information that I learned in this book that Obama employeed family members from the media by putting them in positions within the White house. In doing this he was able to control what the Media published.
August 28, 2023
A very interting read with some down to earth prescriptions for resolution. It states the issues and provides concrete examples to substantiate his positions. I found the book thought-provoking and non echo chamberish. A must-read for people who call themselves journalists.
March 16, 2023
A lot of solid content. I’m just not in love with the way the individual chapters are composed and written.
May 6, 2023
Quick read, not too deep.
May 24, 2023
It's a good thing someone points these things out but it's all really an open secret at this point. I guess the author cares more than me as I found a lot of it over-dramatic.
May 31, 2023
Excellent, well balanced look at the media through case studies of actual recent events. Eye-opening, worth your time.
March 25, 2024
Provides explanations for why you should not believe everything you hear or see in media today
December 16, 2024
Surprisingly good and insightful, with a dose of generosity.
May 18, 2025
This an OK book, but falls a bit flat.
Many good points made but rather weak conclusion.
And I did not like the audiobook’s use of actual interview recordings for what must have been long quotations in the print version. Came across like outsourcing to me.
Many good points made but rather weak conclusion.
And I did not like the audiobook’s use of actual interview recordings for what must have been long quotations in the print version. Came across like outsourcing to me.
April 24, 2023
This was a great read. So many good, specific examples of current events and the assessment of journalism. You can hear the author's passion for his craft throughout. The specific points, momentum and thought patterns were refreshing, in this society where people don't often build well on what they have to say.
August 24, 2023
Very interesting look at the problem with the current media situation we are dealing with in the United States. I appreciate the authors look at all sides of the problem. If you feel like you are taking crazy pills a lot these days, this book will help make sense of that. Not sure how we fix things, but understanding the problem is definitely a good first step.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews