Rating: 
Summary: The definitive autopsy of American Democracy
Review: "You don't choose to have the kind of experience I had while trying to report on the demise of TWA Flight 800. It happens to you... "The buzzsaw is what can rip through you when you try to investigate or expose anything this country's large institutions--be they corporate or government--want kept under wraps... walk into the buzzsaw and you'll cut right to this layer of reality. You will feel a deep sense of loss and betrayal. A shocking shift in paradigm...Those who don't know the truth, or are covering it up, will call you a conspiracy nut... the fact is, conspiracies do exist..."
Kristina Borjesson
INTO THE BUZZSAW
"Into the Buzzsaw" "As we speak, so to speak, or read, the CIA is committing hundreds of extremely serious crimes around the globe in our name and at our expense with nothing to show for it. This is not according to Sy Hersh--the investigative reporter who uncovered the My Lai Massacre--or Amnesty International. This is according to the CIA itself, as reported by the House Intelligence Committee. 'A safe estimate [reads a committee staff study] is that several hundred times every day (easily 100,000 times a year) DO (Directorate of Operations) officers engage in highly illegal activities...' The report was the first official admission and definition of CIA covert operations as crimes which the committee, without explanation, equated with essential national security operations. IN OTHER WORDS, THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES REQUIRES THAT MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND EXTREMELY SERIOUS CRIMES BE COMMITTED EVERY YEAR..." John Kelly
INTO THE BUZZSAW
"Crimes and Silence"
(emphasis mine) "In 1996, I wrote a series of stories entitled DARK ALLIANCE, that began this way: 'for the better part of a decade, a Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerilla army run by the US Central Intelligence Agency...This drug network, opened the first pipeline between Columbia's cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles...The cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America--and provided the cash and connections needed for L.A.'s gangs to buy automatic weapons...'
"...Some Washington journalists were alarmed. 'Where is the rebuttal? Why hasn't the media risen in revolt against this story?' fretted...Bernard Kalb, host of CNN's RELIABLE SOURCES. Kalb expressed frustration that the story was continuing to get out DESPITE THE BEST EFFORTS OF THE PRESS TO IGNORE IT... "...It was an interesting comment because it foretold the way the mainstream press finally did respond to DARK ALLIANCE...
"Privately though, my editors were getting nervous. Never before had the three biggest papers devoted such energy to kicking the hell out of a story by another newspaper... A few months later the Mercury News officially backed away from DARK ALLIANCE...
"...the CIA's knowledge and involvement had been far greater than I'd ever imagined..." Gary Webb
INTO THE BUZZSAW
"the Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On"
(emphasis mine)
If Democracy in America is ever going to be reborn like the Christ, we must accept, based on the detailed evidence of this book INTO THE BUZZSAW that, like Christ, it has been crucified...and it is dead. While making it abundantly clear that the craft of journalism as protected in the First Amendment serves as the foundation of democracy, the celebrated, award winning journalists who have contributed essays to this painful, frightening book--and the great Gore Vidal, who wrote the introduction-also make it clear that the 21st century American Empire, built on the corpse of the American Republic, may be the most highly evolved military dictatorship in the history of mankind. So highly evolved in fact, that it can successfully masquerade as a democracy for a significant portion of its citizenry--assuming that said citizenry never asks too many provocative questions, or proclaim openly the apocalyptic nature of the answers. Some journalists in INTO THE BUZZSAW chronicle the slow demise of investigative journalism in America from the early 20th century to today, and what that has meant for our culture. (To give you an idea of its effect, there is hard proof that George Bush Jr. actually lost the 2000 presidential election against Gore due to voter fraud in Florida [under the governorship of his brother Jeb Bush] by more than 50,000 votes, without counting the "hanging chads." Though the British reported it, the American corporate right-leaning media had no intention of touching the story.) Others reveal hidden evidence of American Foreign Policy tactics through the history of the Cold War that not only make a mockery of the Geneva convention but could easily be compared to the atrocities of Nazism's Gestapo in the 1930's and 40's. The majority of journalists, however, reveal the personal stories they sought for and fought for--and the stories their lives became because of it--to prove the fundamental thesis of journalist Kristina Borjesson, the coiner of the phrase that is the book's title. You cannot help but read this book and ask yourself, how long will it be before people for some strange reason stop printing new editions of Orwell's 1984? American journalism today is hopelessly corrupt. Most of what is passing for news today, if it isn't focused on Michael Jackson's plastic surgeries, is propaganda. The average person will lose quite a bit of sleep reading this book, but it is about the most important book any American could read today.
I would combine INTO THE BUZZSAW with WAR ON FREEDOM by Mosaddeq Ahmed, and Conason and Lyons' THE HUNTING OF THE PRESIDENT, regardless of your politics. This is a trinity of books that will make you know exactly what the scriptwriters of the movie franchise THE MATRIX was trying to tell us. And, painful and frightening though it may be, it will be the first step any American could make toward true spiritual freedom and living an authentic life.
Rating: 
Summary: Who do you trust?
Review: 'Into the Buzzsaw' is a book that purports to expose an underlying phenomenon of censorship in the media - censorship of stories which question the government or large and prominent corporations. It is composed of contributions from a number of journalists (some former journalists) describing stories that they were involved in which went 'into the buzzsaw' - which met with such resistance from those corporations or the government that they were not allowed to be fully reported, or reported at all. The stories range from recent to relatively old, including the use of hormones to increase milk production, an expose of the Du Pont family, the U.S. government's behind the scenes involvement in the international drug trade, the case of Vietnam-veteran and accused turncoat Bobby Garwood, the TWA flight 800 disaster and more. I found 'Into the Buzzsaw' troubling, but not for the reasons you might think. The primary source of uneasy tension I felt while reading the book sprouted because I just wasn't sure whether I could believe the assertions of the various contributors or how far I could trust their veracity. It's not an easy question to wrestle with, and there is no solution between the covers of the book. In his book 'Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion', Robert Cialdini shows how we take our cues about credibility from symbols of authority and that we look for reinforcement of our opinion from others who believe the same as we. Such a system gives a high level of credibility (though not an unimpeachable one) to major papers such as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times. It also leads us to add weight the opinions and statements of people who hold elected office or some other government position - an official imprimatur of authority. It does not, however, lend itself automatically to a high level of credibility for a book put together by a loose band of journalists and other media figures who buck the conventional wisdom - (another source of anonymous authority - who decides what that wisdom is and where do they hold the convention?). Further difficulty arose from the fact that a few of the contributors appear to have an axe to grind. Vindictiveness can come through in writing, and when it occurs, it can lead the reader to the credible alternative theory that the author is slanting facts to support a pre-determined, biased conclusion. This undercuts the argument that these authors are attempting to make. Also, in one or two instances, there appeared to be significant questions about the situations that were not explored fully enough to rule out alternate explanations for the events described. Finally, in reading this book I also began to have questions about the limits journalistic expertise when it comes to various subject matters. There were one or two times when I didn't trust the reporter to know enough about the subject to be able to draw correct conclusions from the limited evidence they presented, particularly in the 2nd chapter regarding bovine hormones. That said, this is an important book and well worth reading. Most of the authors are credible and appear to be primarily concerned with shedding light on the workings of the modern media, not with promoting their bias. You don't have to believe everything that the individual contributors assert to understand and recognize the validity of the primary point - that there is an underlying form of censorship (including self-censorship) that acts to protect powerful interests. There are innumerable examples independent of this book that show how such organizations, in a position of influence, use that influence to shape or suppress, distort or obfuscate coverage of their activities. Watergate and Travelgate come to mind for starters. This book does a good job of breaking down the credibility lent by cues of authority and reinforcing the healthy and appropriate skepticism that should accompany assertions by 'official sources'. Had I proofed this book before publication, I would have advised a few of the authors to tone down their writing - to make it more serious. I'm no fan of plodding writing and I enjoy a good Dave Barry column as much as anyone - but loose language is sometimes inappropriate when your credibility is at issue. Nevertheless it is an entertaining read and will make you think, in more ways than one, about an issue that is at stake in any healthy democracy - who do we trust to give us our information? I gave it 4 stars to reflect the tension I felt in reading 'Into the Buzzsaw', but if the subject of the media, government, bias and censorship at all interests you, this is an excellent book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, insightful collection of journalist tribulations
Review: An eye-opening collection of tale after tale of investigative journalists who in seeking to go beyond the official proclaimations, or the consensus agreed upon "truths", and discover the real truth of an event and/or story pay the price for rubbing powerful interests the wrong way. In my view, these journalists are true heroes. Consider that any one of these individuals could have "sold out" at any moment and made life a lot easier on themselves and family. Staggering lawyer bills, losing their homes, all due to a steadfast reluctance to accept distortion or to settle for a half-baked lie. I am saddened because it appears that the ranks of reporters that actually do research are being bludgeoned in favor of the "swallow the press release" brand of PR journalist that will displace these dedicated souls. Each chapter is by a different writer - from Gerald Colby's "privishing" adventure in writing a tell-all book on the DuPont family (and later the Rockefellers), Kristina Borjesson and Dave Hendrix on TWA800 and the government suppression to keep them from the truth, Greg Palast on Florida purge of valid voters, each writer stepped "into the buzzsaw". As for the few negative reviews here that claim the book was "liberal bias", examine the content of those one-sentence reviews. It sounds like those folks judged the book by preconceived notions ... left or right matter not, the gist of the stories is bumping up against powerful, monied interests that can conjure great force to suppress and/or slant a news event or issue.
Rating:
Summary: The most important book about US journalism in years
Review: As a professional journalist, who studied under Fred Friendly at the Columbia U. School of Journalism, I find this the most important (and in light of recent 9/11 FBI revelations, timely) book about American journalism in many years. I read through its 381 pages in just a few days, amazing since I'm not an especially fast reader. I could hardly put it down.
Why?
-First, these are great tales written by great writers.
-Second, these are accomplished pros and their experiences span a wide range of media outlets and topics.
-Third, this book makes a pusuasive case both that investigative reporting is essential to an informed American public & the survival of American democracy *and* that it is being sabotaged, by either intention or default, by media companies that (I deduce) are so profit-driven and risk aversive that they can barely be considered as practicing serious journalism. Anyone who is bored by this book is either sleep deprived, on a controlled substance, or is predisposed against it. After reading this book, it became evident to me that it is now up to journalists ourselves to defend our work and democracy. We are truly America's last hope for an informed public.
Rating:
Summary: TWA 800, CIA vs. War Against Drugs, ex-POW Bobby Garfield
Review: Author Kristina Borjesson compiles an anthology of media flubs and outright cover-ups. The articles accuse much of the media, especially television news, of sloth, cowardice, careerism and cupidity in refusing to pursue very clear evidence when it appears likely to be damaging to government or corporate interests. The centerpiece must be her story and that of fellow journalist David Hendrix about the evidence that TWA800 was brought down by a war-games missle gone amok rather than a fuel-tank explosion. The chapter on the drug war by Michael Levine (The Great White Lie) is also compelling. The material is so damning of the CIA and FBI that one has to wonder a) if they are true, why have these agencies not simply offed the authors?, or b) if they are false, why have they not been slapped silly with libel suits? After all, they name names. This is a very different book than Bernard Goldberg's "Bias". Bias merely states what many people find obvious: the NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times and Network News are dominated by big-city liberals with Ivy League pedigrees. Borjesson damns them much more completely. She finds them so contemptibly secure in their newsroom cliques, Narthas Vinyard and radiccio-BMW-granitecountertop lifestyles that they won't bestir themselves to undertake an investigation that involves, work, risk, or an examination of their belief in the sanctity of government. I'll close with "privishing", a publisher's chickening out on a book and starving it by doing a minimal press run, no promotion and no second runs. Claimed in one chapter to have happened to investigative books on the duPonts and Rockefellers, it sounds like what happened to Levine's "The Big White Lie," a great book I stumbled on two years ago by accident and had never heard of before or since. I'm a conservative, these authors definitely liberal, but we share an apprension of government unchecked and a complacent 4th estate.
Rating:
Summary: "Media watchdog" ensnarled in conflicts-of-interest
Review: Borjesson's "Buzzsaw" is a collection of well-researched insider stories from journalists who sometimes had to fight insurmountable odds to tell the truth. Because these are heroic tales from survivors, the book is a real page-turner from beginning to end.
These heroes fought (and most are still fighting) deep behind the newspaper banner pages and out of sight of the cameras - fought to give you the facts on various stories. Most of these people have paid a very high price for their dedication to the truth. These are the stories about the stories - and information that powerful vested interests preferred that we not hear about. Reason enough to read this book. If you are at all interested in how the news gets "processed" on its way to your eyes and ears you have to read these stories. That process is currently impaired. In the land of the free press our media got sold to commercial interests and that is the story that we now urgently need to understand. Like the air we breathe, the media is somewhat tranparent. But even if it gets polluted slowly and imperceptibly we will still suffocate. Borjesson brings tales of the possibility of fresh air. A democracy depends on a well-informed citizenry and therefore an unbiased watchdog in the media. Universally, survival depends on clear minimally distorted perceptions of the world. As a design engineer myself, I can assure you that no system is perfect. But after you better understand the news process problems scrupulously detailed in this collection, you may realize like I did that you must do something about it yourself. Thankfully we still live in a nation where we can effect improvements. Continued ignorance may be bliss, but it is not safety.
Rating:
Summary: "Media watchdog" ensnarled in conflicts-of-interest
Review: Borjesson's "Buzzsaw" is a collection of well-researched insider stories from journalists who sometimes had to fight insurmountable odds to tell the truth. Because these are heroic tales from survivors, the book is a real page-turner from beginning to end.
These heroes fought (and most are still fighting) deep behind the newspaper banner pages and out of sight of the cameras - fought to give you the facts on various stories. Most of these people have paid a very high price for their dedication to the truth. These are the stories about the stories - and information that powerful vested interests preferred that we not hear about. Reason enough to read this book. If you are at all interested in how the news gets "processed" on its way to your eyes and ears you have to read these stories. That process is currently impaired. In the land of the free press our media got sold to commercial interests and that is the story that we now urgently need to understand. Like the air we breathe, the media is somewhat tranparent. But even if it gets polluted slowly and imperceptibly we will still suffocate. Borjesson brings tales of the possibility of fresh air. A democracy depends on a well-informed citizenry and therefore an unbiased watchdog in the media. Universally, survival depends on clear minimally distorted perceptions of the world. As a design engineer myself, I can assure you that no system is perfect. But after you better understand the news process problems scrupulously detailed in this collection, you may realize like I did that you must do something about it yourself. Thankfully we still live in a nation where we can effect improvements. Continued ignorance may be bliss, but it is not safety.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ
Review: Every citizen should read, digest, and act. Without a free press and informed and active citizenry, we will lose the freedoms we have in this country.
Rating:
Summary: Profesor, Communications, Inter American U. of Puerto Rico
Review: Excellent! Anyone involved with the media, mostly journalists and editors, should read it. A must for Journalism studetns. Important reading for anyone who belives is living in a democracy.
Rating:
Summary: A real eye opener!!!!
Review: For a society that flaunts all of its rights, as though all other countries around the world are lacking in them, it most certainly is amazing how limited the Press has become. Quite frankly after reading the book, I am surprised that they managed to get this book published! One can understand how that if certain truths were told fortunes, corporations and governments could seriously be harmed. This book for me was more of "well...of course these people and institutions want to keep a lid on these things...have I been sleeping all these years??.. or just slightly sedated?" We were always so quick to criticize the ex-USSR for their tactics in propaganda and control but we failed to hold a mirror up to ourselves.
I for one am glad that their are still journalists such as these (at great risk to their careers!!!), willing to fight for the basic principles in which the US was founded upon.
I salute you!!
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