About a year ago I saw excerpts from the film, "Rich Media, Poor Democracy". It was like finding Jesus. For years I've been frustrated by the lack of content in the very places purporting to supply it, ie; the news media. This film made a lot of things clear - or at least as clear as things can be while sound and images rush by at 24 frames per second. So, I bought the book of the same name, "Rich, Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious Times" by Robert W. McChesney, published by The New Press, New York. (www.thenewpress.com). It's an excellent read if you like facts with your assertions. McChesney has written several books. Another I own but have not read yet is "The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the 21st Century" - he does not do short titles. It looks like an updated version of "Rich Media" as that earlier book was published prior to, for example, widespread blogging. McChesney delves into how our broadcast system came to be accepted as the natural order of things and how this default positions harms democracy. He also talks about what to do about it - more on that in later posts...
I am looking for professors and like-minded students to work with in this area. As a new student in California State University, Fullerton's Masters of Communication program I've only just met the graduate advisor and my current three professors. So, any guidance from anyone who knows more than I would be appreciated.
I love the article I just read by Scott London entitled, "How the Media Frames Political Issues". ( http://www.scottlondon.com/reports/frames.html). It's a great answer to the commonly heard phrase, "the liberal media" - liberal my *!
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