Product Description

NEWS DISSECTOR brings together Danny Schechter’s writings on human rights, politics, and the media over a span of four decades of activism and reporting; this includes his experiences with radio news, public-affairs television programming, production of independent documentaries, and the launching of the Media Channel, a global media watchdog website. These pieces provide a fascinating look at the trajectory of what was once simply called "The Movement." Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, and other figures from the counter-culture and new left come alive in these pages. Schechter’s run-ins with the FBI and the CIA provide fascinating and often entertaining reading. A large section covers Vietnam during and after the war. Throughout, Schechter exposes the practices and prejudices of the news media and proposes detailed corrective action. The collection also includes pieces of a more personal and sometimes emotional nature - the observations, impressions, and inspirations of an insurgent journalist. NEWS DISSECTOR is an enlightening book by one of the few journalists to emerge from the alternative media of the ‘60s and ‘70s with his politics and principles intact.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3108492 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 300 pages

From Library Journal
From the 1960s to the present, Schechter has challenged the "Establishment" in a wide range of media. His work as a journalist and media critic encompasses print, radio, television, documentaries, and the web. (In The More You Watch, the Less You Know, for example, he critically analyzed the workings of television.) Schechter has been on both the inside and the outside of mainstream media, writing for Ramparts and producing for ABC's 20/20. This new collection pulls together selections of his writing on politics and the media. Arranged thematically, it includes sections on the Sixties, Vietnam, Africa, and the media, nicely illustrating the author's ideological development. Though occasionally self-indulgent, as when Schechter recounts his attempts to get copies of his CIA files, this volume will be a welcome addition to academic journalism collections seeking materials reflecting a left-wing perspective. An earlier edition of this work, including different materials, was published as an e-book by Electron Press. Judy Solberg, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington, DC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"As 'News Dissector' on Boston radio, Danny Schechter literally educated a generation..." -- Noam Chomsky

"Danny Schechter...has shaken up public broadcasting...in the course of his career as a self-styled ‘News Dissector’ and human rights advocate..." -- The Nation

"We need 50, 100, 1000 Danny Schechters. And we need everyone to take his words to heart . . ." -- Robert McChesney, Media Historian

About the Author
DANNY SCHECHTER is executive producer of Globalvision, a television and film production company, and executive editor of Mediachannel.org, a global media watchdog website. His writing on current events and media issues has appeared in The Boston Globe, Newsday, Village Voice, The Nation, Columbia Journalism Review, and many other publications. He is the author of Falun Gong’s Challenge to China (Akashic Books, 2000; award-winning documentary film with the same title) and The More You Watch, The Less You Know (Seven Stories, 1997) . He lives in New York City

Customer Reviews

An excellent and timely collection
For the past year, I have been following Danny Schechter's column on Mediachannel.org. His insights are special, often humorous, and his writing is unequalled in both its lightness and its depth. I was very glad, therefore, to hear of the publication of this book, and I was not disappointed: It containts various articles from the News Dissector's long and unusual career in the media, in the same style and intelligence of his contemporary columns. They illuminate a unique media personality, and I heartily recommend the book.

Spend Your Time and Money Elsewhere
This book is the self involved, self indulgent ramblings of a man sorely in need of a focus, attention and an editor.
Schechter's affluent upbringing and star-struck posturing unfortunately cannot mask his angry writing style which labors under the cute witicisms his young fans find so endearing on his website. This book is shallow and long-winded; spend your money and time elsewhere.