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Summary: An Eloquent and Thought-Provoking Indictment
Review: In his published memoir, Don Hewitt suggests that one of the primary reasons for the enduring success of CBS's "60 Minutes" is that everyone involved helps to tell a great "story." Those who watch this highly-rated television series are well-aware of the fact that each correspondent has his or her own opinions about a given subject. With tone of voice and body language as well as with whatever may be said, the correspondent reveals what could be called "attitude." Viewers can even anticipate how Mike Wallace or Ed Bradley will react when, for example, interviewing unscrupulous physicians who victimize the elderly. The "story" is told from a specific perspective and often shaped by the correspondent's own values. Fair enough. In this book, Goldberg discusses an entirely different form of journalism: national media presentation of the news (both network and print) which, he insists, can be characterized by arrogance, elitism, distortion, hypocrisy and -- yes -- bias. Until last year, Goldberg was a correspondent at CBS who became a persona non grata (in 1995) after writing an Op Ed article published by the Wall Street Journal in which he accused his (then) employer of slanting the news with a partisan (i.e. liberal) subjectivity. Here is a brief excerpt from his book: Those who control the national news media "love affirmative action, as long as their own kids get into Ivy League schools. They love handing out jobs based on racial preferences, as long as they get to keep theirs. It's a great deal: it's always somebody else who has to make the sacrifice -- sometimes Asian-American kids, sometimes other white students who don't get into places like Harvard and Yale and Princeton -- while the white liberal elites get to claim credit for being so decent, the saviors of black people in America." This is a representative sample of Goldberg's cynicism which sometimes becomes rage. Throughout the book, he offers hundreds of examples of political correctness taken to what seems like a lunatic extreme, of duplicity in the service of "image management," and of what Dante had in mind when he reserved the worst ring in hell for those who, in a moral crisis, preserved their neutrality. I was especially fascinated by his explanation of an industry-wide "code." Goldberg asserts that the word "controversial", for example, is frequently employed by major news media when describing anyone unsympathetic with their liberal principles. My own opinion is that when using the term "liberals" to characterize those who control network news programs, given the ferocious competition for viewers and advertising dollars, Goldberg really means "populists." If Barry Goldwater's ideologies were embraced by a majority of viewers, I suspect, those principles would have a dominant influence on how the news would be presented. Whether or not a reader agrees with Goldberg's accusations, I think the reader would agree that he asks very important questions and addresses very important issues. This is a book well worth a careful reading and, I hope, will help to stimulate a rigorous re-consideration and re-evaluation of one of the most powerful influences in our society today.
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Summary: Reporter
Review: I've been in the news business for 25 years. I was shocked one night when watching television I heard Goldberg tell Connie Chung that the reason she was an anchor and he wasn't was that he was a white male and she wasn't. I couldn't believe he got away with it. I expected to read that he would be fired shortly because he did something the news business often doesn't allow--telling the truth. When I tried to tell the truth, while working for a news service, other reporters from other news organizations went after me when I didn't report the party line, so to speak. I am not a liberal, nor a conservative. I do believe that to make good decisions, you need to have accurate information--something the public rarely has.
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Summary: The Obvious Confirmed
Review: First I'm a conservative and been angry about bias in the media for years. So I was looking for a book that would help me frame and express to others this brainwashing by the left. Goldberg does a fine job in this regard. He was an insider and claims to be a liberal so there is a hope of credibility in siting the evidence. However there is very little new in the book for a conservative. The bias he sites are there every night on PBS, CBS, NBC, and ABC. Its obvious. I think the most important element Goldberg brings out is that these very leftist media folks think they are moderates, and they honestly think that. They are also acitivist and are proud to use their positions to push the liberal agenda which they view as a common sense agenda. There is no conspiracy just stupidity. I guess the only surprise is Goldberg claims to be a liberal but he demonstrates time and again the hypocrisy and unfairness of many of the liberal positions epecially in affirmative action and AIDS. If you want a concise well written book on media bias that reads fast then I highly recommend Bias. Also I'd like to see it on the NY Times best seller list and then to watch the reaction. That I bet would be a lot of fun. So buy it.
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Summary: Thanks Bernard!
Review: I really appreciate a non-ghost written, first hand account of what really happened. While this book lacks the prose of many offerings, this book more than compensates by pulling back the curtain on a power opinion-builder in our society, the evening national news. He never stoops to "prettying reality" and shows us the "people" that shape our national debate. While it may not be intentional, Goldberg shows that national media's liberal bias repeatedly precludes capturing balanced reporting. He also demonstrates how far out of sync the national media is with its audience in "fly-over country". It also shows how story content selection is driven by the need for ratings, an obvious but ugly reality. BTW Goldberg makes it clear that he is not a Republican and had never voted for a Republican Presidential candidate. He simply deplores the slanted reporting he sees and wants to turn a strong light on it. It is comical how reporters, who make a living investigating and criticizing others, have such a thin skin when the tables are turned. I hope I don't seem to merely be enjoying the discomfort of others in this regard, but I feel this was a book that really needed to be written.
My copy of the book arrived from amazon on December 12 and I haven't been able to put it down.
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Summary: Reviews of an unpublished book
Review: The glowing reviews are very intetesting considering that the book has yet to be published. The author gave an interview on CNN and I suspect that many of the comments are based on the interview. I was not impressed, the author came across as a partisan whose real complaint was that CBS was not biased the way he wanted it to be and fell out with his producers as a result. The attack on the media and in particular the phrase 'biased liberal press' is part of a deliberate strategy to introduce a right wing bias. Nobody who watched the 2000 election can fairly claim that GWB was unfairly treated by the media. Nobody who watches Fox news or listens to talk radio can claim that there are no forums that allow the right to put their case unchallenged.
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Summary: Love those insider true storys
Review: I love those Insider Storys where the average person gets a real inside peak at a world they normally wouldn't get to experience. Great Book! Also recommend another cool insider story, "U.S. CUSTOMS BADGE OF DISHONOR."
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Summary: A "mole" at CBS?
Review: Just fininshed this dynamite book. Bernared Goldberg has impeccable liberal credentials; that's what makes it so devastating. After almost 30 years at CBS he has an epiphany. He realizes his frequent complaints about liberal bias in the news are always denied or ignored by the entire hierarchy, so he writes an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal and all hell breaks loose. From there the book alternately recites numerous clear examples of what he's talking about and takes shots at Dan Rather and other CBS news biggies. To his horror, Goldbedrg becomes a hero to Rush Limbaugh and to his surprise, a complete pariah at CBS. There are some hilarious episodes, but this is a serious work full of "chapter and verse". The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is I thought he dwelled on Dan Rather's many shortcomings a little too much. There is obviously bad blood on both sides.
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Summary: The book was brutally honest
Review: Like another reviewer pointed out, it simply states, by a media insider, what we have all known for a long time. Another review was inaccurate. The reviewer discredited all the positive reviewers, on the premise that the book was released at a certain date, so any reviews beforehand could not be true, because they couldn't have had access to it. The fact is, the book was released early at different locales, in varying quantities. Also, if all these conservatives "hadn't even read the book," how can we all give different bits of information about it? It's logically incoherent. ...however, liberals don't want to get truth all mixed up with the facts. The book was not only impressively accurate, but the grammar and syntax was on the level of a Rhode scholar.
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Summary: Bias
Review: A fast read from front to back. Reenforces what most of us know but can't say to our friends. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: Goldberg's book is Must reading...
Review: Bernie Goldberg's book is essential reading for anybody who is interested in American journalism. Goldberg, a longtime CBS News correspondent, has presented a thesis that is hard to refute; that American broadcast journalism has been enfeebled by a persistant left-wing bias for years, and is not going to change anytime soon. Goldberg emphasizes his experiences at CBS, with the imperious Dan Rather getting a lot of exposure, but the book covers all of the usual suspects; Jennings, Brokaw, and many lessor lights. The author provides many personal anecdotes from his days at the network to help prove his point, but, in addition, the book is very well researched. Any work that bashes the network giants is sure to find an audience with conservatives, but this book is much more. Goldberg writes with wit, common sense, and a large dose of satire that works just right. This is a book for anyone who wishes to know what happens "on the inside." Bernie Goldberg should be commended for producing this wonderfull book...do not miss it, and enjoy!
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