Rating: 
Summary: Personal Bias, no fact.
Review: Though I was very interested to read this book after having read both "Bias" by Bernard Goldberg and "Slander" by Ann Coulter, I was dreadfully disappointed to find that this book offered little evidence to supports its contentions. More often than not, the author simply relies on a "She's too cute" or "He's too stupid" argument to indicate that particular opinions are invalid. He redefines liberalism as communism and defines conservatism as liberalism in order to say that particular pundits are conservative, and classifies someone as conservative if they have ever voted conservatively or said anything remotely conservative. This book is intentionally misleading, vindictive, and of little use to anyone who truly wishes to analyze the facts.
Rating: 
Summary: pretty good
Review: This was a very intriguing read. I am a passionate conservative, but I felt myself drawn in by Alterman's examples. It was especially interesting to read about Howard Kurtz and the evolution of the New Republic. In one section he tried hard to be balanced, giving examples about the liberal bias toward the death penalty and abortion debates. I enjoyed the book and will probably read it again in the future. However, his tone was very snotty in some places, and he had a few silly errors that could have easily been corrected. For example, he called a Fox show "Fox on Media" instead of Fox Newswatch, and he misquoted Bush's famous phrase in New York. There were a few times where he adopted the very same tactics as the conservatives that he criticized, such as calling Limbaugh "deranged," Robertson "anti-American," and demeaning several female pundits by referring to their looks. I found, overall, that "Slander" made a more compelling case. After I read the book I found an interview where he said the world would be better without Rush and his twenty million listeners. I believe that crossed the line and diminished his credibility.
Rating: 
Summary: Scholarly & readable debunking of right-wing blather...
Review: Eric Alterman takes on some of the biggest "names" in the media and makes a most convincing case for the illusory nature of the so-called liberal media juggernaut.Trust me. Buy it. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: It All Depends on Your Own Bias
Review: Alterman misses his own bias in this book. He is a radical leftist columnist for the Nation magazine, and hence to him the media looks quite conservative. He talks about all the "conservatives" who get published in "supposedly" liberal media, but he can't resist slipping a few ringers by the reader. Christopher Hitchens is described as a "liberal hater", which is probably true, but misleading. Hitchens is a far left socialist, so he attacks liberals from the left, not the right. Cokie Roberts "never met a liberal she couldn't condescend to". Well, yes, but her parents were Democrats in congress and she never met a conservative she couldn't condescend to either. Nicholas von Hoffman is described as a "Joe McCarthy-admiring columnist" as if that solidifies his conservative credentials. But von Hoffman's latest (as of 2/13/03) column is entitled "Lincoln's Party Betrays His Legacy" in which this quote appears: "The Republican who won the governorship in Mr. Barnes' place used this hateful issue [the Confederate Flag] to get himself elected. That's what Republicans do." Joe Klein and former NY Times Editor AM Rosenthal have become neoconservatives in Alterman's eyes; never mind that both of them almost certainly voted for Clinton twice and Gore in 2000. Amazingly, Howell Raines, current NY Times editor, is lambasted for being "one of Bill Clinton's most vocal adversaries". Even where Alterman correctly identifies conservatives he reveals his personal bias. George Will is "the only ideological commentator" on ABC's Sunday morning political talk show. Of course, the HOST of that show, George Stephanopolous, has no ideology; his work for Bill Clinton's White House is conveniently forgotten. Whether you will enjoy this book depends a lot on your own bias. Liberals will love it and find it convincing; conservatives will find it absurd.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but flawed
Review: I gave this book 3 stars because while I think Mr. Alterman makes some good points, he doesn't convince anyone that liberal bias in non-existent. The problem is that there is too much bias on either side. Journalists today no longer have the integrity and objectivity to effectively report the news. Bias seeps into everything they say.
Rating:
Summary: The Conservative Media--the real truth
Review: At last, a book that speaks to today's silent, suffering, embarrassed majority of moderate, civil, reasonable people. This entire hot dog fight-the entire culture of the right-wing extremists who hate their imaginary enemies, the "liberals;" extremists who are nothing more than what Lenin called "useful fools" but in this case not for Communism but for cynical Limbaugh's bank account--started about 20 years ago. At that time, a conservative think tank study found that, while the media are almost entirely owned by conservatives, the study detected a 60% predominance by young liberal reporters in the news rooms. The study found that these (at that time) younger, (and I think the study said, better educated, which automatically eliminates most of the Limbaugh crowd except those whose anger overwhelms their gray cells) liberals were having a disproportionate influence on how the news was often presented. Having had some real-time experience in journalism, I could readily see the truth of that. Amazingly, this bit of statistics was then elevated to a fanatical crusade for people who waste their lives, their employer's time, and their spouse's sanity all day long on sleazy talk show circuses. These people believe that anger and viciousness, name-calling and bad behavior, are the same as sound thinking and civil behavior. Just as the wild-eyed left had the country nauseated in the 1960s, so these storm troopers sicken reasonable people today. The whole "liberal" canard is a shallow and meaningless myth for those who cannot think of anything smarter to call imaginary enemies they don't know anything about, but hate. Eric Alterman's book hits about 95% on target, and is a clarion call for honesty, decency, and humanity. Read this book if you are a reasonable, thinking person who cares about other people and about this country.... --This text refers to the Hardcover edition
Rating:
Summary: Conservative Pundits are Conservative, and Biased?
Review: The title of this book is misleading: "What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News". It portends to tell the truth about bias and the news but it never addresses the bias in the news. What the author, Eric Alterman, tries to do is expose the conservative biases of conservative pundits. Well, for my money I didn't need a book to tell me that Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and O'Reilly are conservatively biased. If you enjoy the ranting of a very angry man then you'll enjoy this book. If you really enjoy the ranting of an angry man then you'll enjoy listening to this "author" give an interview. If you want a book about bias in the news media, try the book "Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News" by Bernard Goldberg. He's a liberal in seek of the truth, wherever the chips may fall.
Rating:
Summary: ideal tonic for complacent liberals
Review: Alterman's book strikes a nimble balance between careful research and effervescent prose....it's the perfect book for that mass of complacent liberals who would benefit from an alternative to the corporate media (not to mention the scariness of Coulter, Limbaugh, O'Reilly et al). By mixing well-documented facts with his own irrepressible wit (and admitted liberalism), Alterman's book should be required reading for anyone who gives the current state of politics and social policy even a passing thought. I was particularly struck by Alterman's indictment of the corporate power behind the media. The largely unnoticed (and continuing -- see the current attempts by the FCC for even more deregulation) consolidation of the media is one of the more disquieting trends in American culture. One can only hope that attempts, like Alterman's, to shine a light on this trend are read by as many people as possible.
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING
Review: This is THE book that will finally take the hot air out of the conservative talking heads and put to rest their repeated lies about the media. The author is really much too kind to Fox News (also known as Faux News)which is the al-Jazerra of the Republican Party. Conservatives like to tout the statistics about the viewership of Fox News (also known as the second comedy channel on cable) but fail to also consider that the size of the audience is not an indication of the credibility of the network. The viewers of Fox News fall into three classes: (1) Devout believers in the conservative movement who are too lazy to truly seek out balanced news, (2) The curious who try to keep track of what the right-wing nuts are being programmed to believe at the moment, and (3) Those of us in search of laughs. Once upon a time America had the choice of watching TV programs that satirized the current news and now in the absence of just such programming, Fox News fills the need because it is such a comedy. The only fault with the book is that the author does not do more in calling the media to task for its gross neglect of its investigative journalism responsibilities. If there had indeed been true in-depth and objective reporting on the Republican party platform and its candidate in the 2000 Presidential election, then America would not today be suffering the national nightmare that it is today.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and Invaluable
Review: This is a first-rate piece of work, clear, tough, self-aware and often brutally funny. It's also remarkably fair, praising journalists as well as criticizing them--even praising the rare non-liberal journalist, such as Michael Kinsley, who is able to think for himself. I cannot recommend it too highly. My only criticism is that the book is not good for one's blood pressure, and you will finish it hoping never to encounter certain public figures at parties or on the street for fear of what you might say or do to them.
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