Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism
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Product Description
Did the Washington Post bring down Richard Nixon by reporting on the Watergate scandal? Did a cryptic remark by Walter Cronkite effectively end the Vietnam War? Did William Randolph Hearst vow to “furnish the war” in the 1898 conflict with Spain? In Getting It Incorrect, W. Joseph Campbell addresses and dismantles these and additional prominent media-driven myths–tales about or by the news media that are widely believed but which, on close examination, prove apocryphal. In a fascinating exploration of these and additional cases–including the supposedly outstanding coverage of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina–Campbell describes how myths like these can feed stereotypes, deflect blame from policymakers, and overstate the power and influence of the news media.
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This isn’t a review of the book because it hasn’t hit the bookstores yet (6-16-10), but I was excited to see it on the Neweum Web site and came here to see if I could buy it – then I saw the it is $60.00! Maybe I’ll wait until the local library puts it on their shelves and I’ll check it out and write a real review. I’m sure it’s a fantastic book, but in today’s economy I’m just not sure who’s going to fork over $60.00. (OBTW, I gave it three stars lacking having read it because I’m sure it’ll rate at least that – should probably rate 5-stars.)
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
Joe Campbell likes to burst media bubbles, and in this fascinating volume he gets to pop 10 of them. For journalists, it’s a fun read, and one that delivers some surprises. For non-journalists, it’s a cautionary tale about how people so regularly pass along thoughts that sound right, lacking checking out their sincerity.
Some of his myths–notably the one that says Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein brought down President Nixon with their Watergate disclosures–are easily dispelled. Of course, there was a legislative, judicial and investigatory process that really led to Nixon’s resignation after misconduct was uncovered. But exploring the case with Prof. Campbell summons as much thought out of the reader as it does from the leader. “What do you know, and when did you know it,” indeed!
In some cases–like the question of whether brassieres really were ever burned, to make the common notion of “bra-burning” by feminists–you may want to make you want to do your own research to validate his assertions. But even that would be a fun process, in the spirit he makes.
He doesn’t like the thought of television journalism prizes much. And his disapproval of them is one area where I’d disagree, as a student of the reporting that the Pulitzers admit. One reason the Times-Picayune WON the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina–one of his 10 cases–is that the paper so effectively debunked untrue horror tales after the storm, for example. The fact that the Times-Pic originally carried some of persons erroneous tales, and corrected them later, when reporters were back on the scene, makes its public service even greater in my book. (Really, it IS greater in my book, which is a book Pulitzer’s Gold: Behind the Prize for Public Service Television journalism about the Pulitzers.)
But “Getting It Incorrect” will get you thinking. And it’s likely to have you identifying OTHER possible media myths for the Campbell to dig into. Did businessmen REALLY jump off ledges on Wall Street in 1929? I don’t reflect that the reality fits the perception. Professor?
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5