Home :: Books :: Nonfiction  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction

Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News

Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News

List Price: $27.95
Your Price: $18.45
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 79 >>

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bias is biased -WARNING!
Review: The tome was full of innuendo and alluded to facts that never seemed to be soundly supported. If you want to read tales of covert commiseration, this is for you. If you like the bright spotlight of truth shown upon smoke-filled room back slapping, this will be rewarding for you. However, if you like supported, sound, factual argumentation -this is a dud.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Has Credibility Issues..
Review: In "Bias," Glodberg states his case against the oft-debated liberal slant in American news stories. While I do support the argument Goldberg presents, I see many flaws in the ways he chooses to present his information. He quotes people without telling us who they were, or he does disclose their name as he tells the reader that the source said to Goldberg that he or she would deny the claims. Further, the book becomes so focused upon what Goldberg defending his peaceful relationship with CBS anchorman Dan Rather -who Goldberg disses, on average, at least once per page- that a skeptical reader can't help but feel that there's more to Goldberg's personal feelings about the media than he presents.

The overall feeling of the book is a comfortable, down-home style. Goldberg presents himself as the all-American everyman who wants only fairness in his news; and apparently, the American everyman is very fond of one-sentence paragraphs. On top of providing an extremely limited sample of actual biased liberal information in the news source, Goldberg seems unable to comprehend that paragraphs should be at least 4-5 sentences long. As a result, the book comes off choppy, with an over effort at appearing kitschy and down-to-earth.

As proof of our biased information system, Goldberg chooses to illustrate a few quotes from -gasp, shock!- Dan Rather. Rather is quoted as saying something along the lines of not thinking that most journalists lean either right or left consistently, so Goldberg provides us a wonderful poll demonstrating that the majority of journalists identify themselves as Democratic. This argument is really not that sound- identifying more with one party than the other does not necessarily mean a person consistently votes along certain party lines. If anything, American political parties have become disturbingly similar in their policies, and dissatisfaction with BOTH parties leads many to split their voting ballots. By telling you that I am a liberal, it does not mean I would never vote for a Republican, and I suspect American journalists- like the rest of the country -usually feel the same way. Likewise, Goldberg, who seems to embrace (or imply that he embraces) neoconservative ideals throughout the text states that he has never voted for a Republican president. Thus, Goldberg's synopsis of Rather's comment seems self-conflicting, to say the least.

To Goldberg's credit, the book is very entertaining, and I do recommend reading it. Despite the fact that most of the book feels more like a personal attack on Dan Rather (and an implicit slander of CBS) than an investigate expose, Goldberg makes a few good points about the media. The media's "prettification" of the homeless, the cashing in of evening news magazines, and the media's desire to cater to specific majority populations are all interesting points worth investigating.

All in all, it's worth reading. But follow Goldberg's own advice and consider the motives that the author may have in presenting his case against America's media elites.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Another Poorly Written Attack Book
Review: Goldberg serves up a foul-mouthed screed in the ever-escalating liberal vs. conservative book wars. Like recent works by Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Michael Moore, "Bias" is the intellectual equivalent of pro-wrestling; an entertaining fiction at best. "Bias" is simply more unsubstantiated and already refuted drivel to feed an audience starving for affirmation of its baser prejudices. In this case the drivel is dished out in a flavor suited to the palate of only the most partisan of conservatives. If the reader prefers, there is no shortage of liberal drivel available from authors of the other persuasion.

If Goldberg's point is that Dan Rather is a self-possessed tyrant, this is not news. If the point of Goldberg's effort is to perpetuate the myth of liberal media bias (like communists putting fluoride in our drinking water or the government controlling our weather) he adds nothing substantive to the discussion. Nearly 70 pages of "Bias" concern Goldberg's 1996 editorial in the Wall Street Journal and what he regarded as the hostile response he received from his colleagues. The CBS story cited in Goldberg's WSJ opinion piece focused Steve Forbes' flat tax proposal. Goldberg's assertions that this story had a liberal bias comes off as ridiculous if one takes the time to review the actual transcripts of the CBS story which included quotes from Newt Gingrich and interviews with former Republican presidential advisers. Citing the details of the CBS story would have undercut Goldberg's tenuous argument which explains why Goldberg avoided including a transcript in this book. The books other "facts" are even less well researched and more poorly presented.

The point of attack books like "Bias" is not to provide objective analysis but to distort factual information. Simply put, books like "Bias" set out to play on the persecution complex of the reader. "They are all out to get us so we have a right to our anger!" Rather than praise yet another book that fans the flames of anger using utter nonsense, may I suggest both sides in this misbegotten struggle take a time out. Then again, given the money to be made by appealing to the angels of our lesser selves I hold out little hope for a cease-fire.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Goldberg Has a Problem with Research and What Not
Review: Maybe that's why he isn't with CSB anymore.

For instance, he complains that the Heritage Foundation is refered to as a Conservative think tank, and the Brookings Institution is not called a Liberal think tank. Well, that's because the Heritage Foundation identifies it's mission as being to "promote conservative public policies", while the Brookings Institution states it's committed to "independent, factual and nonpartisan research."

He also picked a quote showing "liberal hate speech" while debating Al Frankin on DONAHUE. He tried to present the quote as meaning that liberals believed the problem in the Soviet Union wasn't Communism but shortages. Unfortunantly for him, on national television, what the quote was really about (the collapse of the coup, and Gorbachev not being able to use communism as an excuse) was made quite clear by Frankin. He showed a clip of Tom Brokaw talking about what a great day it was in history (with the will of the people being greater than the cold-blooded men who wanted to return them to oppression).

He's kind of misleading and right leaning.

There's a nice little chapter in a factual, researched book called Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken about Goldberg. I tell everyone I know to read it if they really want to know the truth about the media.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: One big axe to grind.
Review: In "Bias, How the Media Distorts the News", I believe the author's original intentions were to show some factual evidence that what we are hearing on TV via the news is information that either simply isn't true or is mostly slanted towards the political left. Since the latter is no big news (pardon the pun) to anyone, I bought the book with a bit of caution. Throughout the book, the author smears some of TV's top anchors with a vengeance that makes you wonder if his claim that his co-workers sudden disloyalty to him is simply due to one article he wrote. Nose in the air, the soapbox even taller, Bernard Goldberg proceeds on a near hate campaign for his "former" friends, and unfortunately in the process we get the vitreous bile. I certainly did not learn anything I didn't already know, and I thought of all the books that I could write about people who have done the very same to myself. Most of us have people who we thought were friends and then noted a knife in our back or sensed disloyalty, and that is what this book really was about to my mind. It's a shame, because it did sound interesting, and I really did think I might learn something, but I think the ending of Mr. Goldberg's career would have been better left unsaid. There is nothing, in my opinion, the public needs to know in this book. In the end, Mr. Goldberg's axe is even a bit larger than the average.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Right on, Bernard!
Review: Bernard Goldberg worked for CBS network news for 28 years, sometimes on the same news programs as Dan Rather. On February 13, 1996, he wrote an op-ed piece, published in the Wall Street Journal, which pointed out in simple language that there was a bias in the network news business that he had come to be aware of firsthand. This was essentially the first day of the rest of Bernard Goldberg's life. His coworkers shunned him for letting out such a secret. Now, Goldberg expands on his theme with "Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News." In his Introduction, Goldberg explains that he is neither traitor nor enemy. The enemy is 'on the other side of the camera.' His point is that even though there is a distinct liberal bias to their news reporting, either the networks are completely oblivious to it, in a state of denial, or just plain arrogant. Unfortunately, even the best reporters have to, in turn, report to their bosses, and in the world of network news there are many unwritten rules that dictate what a reporter can and can't say. Having stopped digesting news from major sources in 1994 myself, for some of these same reasons, I applaud Goldberg's work. We should all think about WHO is telling us something before considering WHAT it is they are saying. We should be aware of what words they ARE saying and which they are NOT saying.

Titles such as "I Thought Our Job Was to Tell the Truth," and "How Bill Clinton Cured Homelessness" head the 15 unique chapters. There are chapters devoted to the liberal slant on such issues as homelessness, AIDS, gender, race, working moms, and terrorism. Appendix A is the Wall Street Journal op-ed piece written by Goldberg that started it all, but most of it was quoted in the general text anyway.

Although 'Bias' starts out somewhat whiny, the book soon gets into the meat and potatoes of liberal bias on the big TV networks in a way that is both familiar and humorous. There are so many examples of bias here that you can't read this book without at least saying Goldberg raises a good question. How do they get away with this? (Read Chapter 10 to find out.) He cites several media studies over the past 20 years, and quotes from numerous printed articles. If you weren't aware of this problem before, you will be convinced after reading 'Bias.' He puts forward a very complete argument.

There is a lack of footnotes, which would make Goldberg's information more easily crosschecked, and an index would have been helpful. Do students of media have 'Bias' on their required reading list? They ought to! I liked that the chapters were on individual subjects, yet all of them tied together on the basic theme. This is informative reading!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Harvard, Yale, Manhattan, Hollywood group think
Review: Goldberg does a good job of explaining that the problem is not some "conspiracy" to push a lying, PC liberal agenda on the American public. Instead the biased "liberal Media" (not my choice of words) is the result of "group think". All of the decision makers in the major media come from the same places (Harvard, Yale, Columbia School of Journalism) and go to work and meet their mentors in places like Manhattan, Washington DC. Hollywood. These elites never or almost never mix with regular Americans who have different life experiences and different points of view. When someone like a Ted Turner has great success starting a news organization CNN based in Atlanta outside of this group think liberal ghetto, the powers that be work to break the dissenting source of information. Ted Turner waas forced to sell out CNN to Gerald Levin's Time Warner Inc- now there is no virtually no non PC liberal source for news or entertainment. I guess Murdoch's Fox is a bit different.
What will it take to break this PC liberal group think stranglehold on the US media? Something huge - a war, economic collapse. 9/11/01 didn't do it..

Did others hear this joke?
They found Jimmy Hoffa....
He's been co-hosting the CBS Evening News for the last 30 years, just no one watches the program and reported him.
:-)

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: When will you stupid bleeding-heart Marxists stop WHINING???
Review: Of course there is a liberal media!

That's why CBS went on ahead with their plans to air a miniseries critical to the presidency of Ronald Reagen, despite outspoken condemnation from conservatives!

That's why the media in this country grilled President Bush on his reasons for going to war in Iraq!

That's why The Dixie Chicks weren't banned from any radio stations following their anti-Bush comments!

That's why you can't turn on the Fox News Channel without Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly spouting some sort of liberal nonsense!

Geez, when will you liberals *learn*?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: How ironic...
Review: According to Amazon.com standards, a Spotlight Review must adhere to these guidelines...

"Spotlight Reviews are based on how well the review was written and how helpful it was deemed by our customers. We surface them on the site so that you can get good information quickly. Spotlight Reviews are calculated on a daily basis for most items in our catalog with customer reviews."

So why are both reviews for this book (Bias by Bernard Goldberg) poorly written and unhelpful? Neither "reviewer" (a loosely-used term in this case) liked the book. To be fair (and unBIASed), this page should contain a positive and negative review, to cover both sides. Furthermore, even if both reviews simply must be negative, why would these two be chosen? 30% people thought the second review was helpful, while a whopping 4 OUT OF 24 PEOPLE found the first one helpful. So, in total, 27 out of 34 people found these "Spotlight Reviews" unhelpful.

I wouldn't normally bother with this sort of thing. I just found it rather ironic, considering the subject matter of the book itself (and the fact that neither argument makes any valid points, but rather uses emotion to {unsuccessfully} sway a potential buyer.)

Anyway. Concerning the book.

If you're chronically liberal, don't bother. Your immediate rage will ruin any chance you have of seeing any truth in Goldberg's argument.

If you're ultra conservative, save yourself some money. You'll likely agree with everything he says (or that you think he says) simply because he's speaking out against a form of liberalism.

If you're open-minded and can avoid both mindless aversion and mindless adherence, you can benefit and learn from some of the very valid points made in this book. Don't listen to the emotional ravings of either extreme. Decide for yourself, if you can handle it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Yes, there is a liberal bias.
Review: There is a liberal bias in CNN, ABC, NBC and of course CBS. What do you people not understand? T his person actually WORKED for freakin CBS! I would trust an insider's viewpoint rather then (reviewers) people who complain that they didn't report lies about how the war was over oil. Let's see, Bush said in his State of the Union speech that Iraq wasn't an eminant threat, so how could he "lie" about Iraq not being an eminant threat? Anyways, Goldberg's claims are entirely accurate and DEFINATELY viewable today while watching the nightly news. 95% of NBC's reporters are Democrats. All the books they review are liberal books, not conservative. I don't think Cranky_reviewer knows the difference between Liberals (no, not classical liberalism) and Conservatism. The major networks always criticize President Bush on every moves he makes. They always make sure we know how the Democrats feel first, and then talk about the Republicans less. A lot of the time they refer to Republicans as Conservatives, but Democrats are never liberals. Partial-birth abortion has been translated to liberal media speak as "So-called partial birth abortion." There is a liberal bias in the media, and my conclusions are based on FACTS. "The Reagans" miniseries has nothing to do with it. It was mainly out of respect because the poor man is 92 years old and in critical condition. Please research and look at alternative news like FOX and PBS Nightly News Hour (though a little liberal slant, still more fair and balanced than the major networks). I dare you, see everything from a right-wing perspective. For once think Bush is actually right (for the most part, he has been right) and put that in your mind. THEN watch the news and see how it slants to the left. Just some advice.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 79 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates