Attack the Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against the Media » (1st Edition)

Attack the Messenger is an objective look at the loss of public trust in the news media-and the resulting threat to American democracy. Biased, sloppy, and sometimes deceitful reporting is partly to blame, but this book primarily examines how politicians declared war on the media's role as an honest broker of information-and won. Craig Crawford takes readers who crave truth in news through the power struggle between the government and mainstream media, as well as directs them on how to avoid political propaganda and find the most reliable news sources.

Acknowledgments     ix
Turning the Tables     1
The Setup     3
The Sting     4
The Fallout     10
Media on the Run     11
Blame the Messenger     15
The Downside of the Media's Fall     17
Bring Back Believable Reporting     19
Arrogance Is a Blinding Weakness     22
Media Wimps     23
Standing Up to Power     25
A President Lies     29
Parse That Sentence     30
Choosing to Lie     32
That Other West Wing Affair     33
"I Did Not Have Sexual Relations..."     37
Spinning Lies     43
Gambling with the Truth     44
The Rewards of Lying     47
The History of Propaganda     49
Spinning the Drug War     50
The Spin Room     52
A War Story     59
A Press Subdued     61
Jefferson and Lincoln against the Press     62
The White House Briefing as Performance Art     64
The TV Generals     65
Who Will Tell the Truth?     73
Losing Public Faith     74
Dropping the Ball     75
Media Glory Days     76
Drawing Conclusions     79
The "Dover Test"     81
The End of an Era     87
Rather Moments     90
Chilling Effect     90
Vietnam Redux     91
The Son Rises     96
Winners and Losers     97
Old Media versus New Media     99
A "Huge Assumption"     101
At the Mercy of Spin     102
Fear in the Newsroom     105
The Politicians Win     107
Media Culpa     109
Struggling to Matter     111
My Hate Mail     113
Getting It Wrong     117
Why I Don't Vote     117
Explaining Ourselves     118
How to Get the Real Story     121
C-SPAN     121
The Associated Press     122
Public Broadcasting     125
Don Imus     126
The Gray Ladies     127
Ombudsmen and Critics     128
The National Networks     128
Opinion as News     129
Shouting the News     131
Cable Watch     132
The Internet      134
Old Media's Comeback Trail     137
What Now?     141
Taking the Lead     142
Acknowledging Bias     144
Politicians on the Loose     145
Let Us Be Rude Again     146
Keep It between the Ditches     148
Poll Watch: Public Confidence in the Press     149
Media Resource Guide     155
Notes     163
Index     173
About the Author     181