In a way, it's a shame this book was not bad, because then I could've called this tome "Flat Earth Snooze." Alas, it is actually good. Not great, but good.
If you like the news, and you should or else you're a dummy, then you probably have at least an inkling as to how fucked up it is. Misplaced priorities, chasing down hot leads over substantive stories, and a complete inability to break meaningful stories are the obvious answers. But "Flat Earth News" digs a bit deeper.
Nick Davies works in the (British) newspaper system, and he and his contacts have a huge litany of sins committed by the press, a press that is increasingly dominated by RUPERT. Davies is more focused on newspapers (or as they call them in Britain, tabloids). Actually, he rarely addresses TV news, but many of the points he makes in the book are salient to the TV news world as well.
Davies does a good job illustrating the crazy (and harmful) shit that goes down in news organizations, whether it's hijinks involving an Israeli defector or an asshole managing editor or dudes going through trash looking for leads. He also helpfully explains the drudgery behind "churnalism," the mindless pumping out of stories no matter how pointless, and the tedious process involved in getting them out.
The stories Davies tells and the issues he explores are interesting, but as I said, in the age of the Internet and TV, his focus on newspapers makes things seem a bit quaint. You have to really be a newsie to stay interested, and if you're not, it's hard to recommend the book. Still, it has important things to say about our news media, so be a good citizen and read it. READ IT.
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