I’d recommend the following books for learning more about how the media works and how to change it. Start a media democracy book group to read and discuss these books! (“Leave a comment” below to recommend others!)
Manufacturing Consent, by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
The classic deconstruction of how market forces shape the media and the information we receive. An important book, and one I must admit I never finished reading.
Communication Revolution: Critical Junctures and the Future of the Media, by Robert McChesney
Fascinating book about the tug-of-war between profits and democracy in the evolution of the media by one of the media reform movement’s leaders. He does spend a lot of ink scolding university scholars for not engaging in contemporary media issues, but he’s a professor and that’s his life. What I found most interesting was his account of how his thinking about the media evolved over time–everything HE read and how it contributed to his understanding of the forces that shape the media.
Our Media, Not Theirs by John Nichols and Robert McChesney
This is a primer written by McChesney and John Nichols (of The Nation, but co-founded Free Press with McChesney) that really gives an overview of what’s wrong with the media and how to fix it. It’s short, highly readable, and a great introductory book.
The New Media Monopoly, by Ben Bagdikian
Another book I feel confident recommending though I haven’t read it myself. This is the classic on the corporatization of the media, groundbreaking when The Media Monopoly was first written in 1983 and now revised and updated. Shame on me for not having read this yet, but I will…
Prime Time Activism, by Charlotte Ryan
What a treasure! I only recently discovered this book, but it’s an excellent book for anyone seeking to get media exposure for grassroots social change efforts. And–maybe it’s just me–just a really insightful book even if you just want to learn about how the media works. This book takes the ivory tower theories about how the media works and translates them into concrete direction on how to deal effectively with the beast in order to achieve your social change objectives.
Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream, by Robert Jensen
A very useful book about how to present “radical” (i.e. social change aimed at root causes of injustice) ideas so they can be evaluated on their merits rather than dismissed out of hand. It focuses on writing Op-Eds, something Jensen’s done very successfully. (His other books are great too.)
War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death by Norman Solomon
Very good book about the media’s role in getting us into wars. (His other books, also great.)
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence
A cautionary tale for anyone who believes that the key to solving the funding crisis in journalism is moving from an advertising-based system to a philanthropy-based system. A provocative look at the legal confines inherent in nonprofit status, the strings attached to foundation funding, and more.
