What Liberal Media? by Eric Alterman

Vivek Shivram

Client , Essay- .net

Book Review

30th November 2006

Book Review of

What Liberal Media : The truth about bias and news

By Eric Alterman

Who among liberals can be counted upon to be as ideological , as relentless , as nakedly partisan , as George Will , Bob Novak , Pat Buchanan , Bay Buchanan , William Bennett , William Kristol , Fred Barnes John McLaughlin , Charles Krauthammer , Paul Gigot , Ben Wattenberg , Oliver North , Katie O 'Beirne , Tony Blankley , Anne Coulter , Sean Hannity , Tony Snow , Laura Ingraham , Jonah Goldberg , William F . Buckley , Jr , Bill O

'Reilly , Alan Keyes , Tucker Carlson , Brit Hume , CNBC 's roundtable of the self-described "wild men " of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and on and on

The fourth estate has always been looked upon as the surest way to promote liberal thinking . In fact , it is rumored that for every orthodox obstacle on the path to success , the media is the best weapon to deal with it - for it is unarguably the most liberal institution ever thought of by mankind . And that is the mindset of not just Americans , but people all around the world . In such a case , it may not be an exaggeration to state that the media is actually synonymous with liberal thinking

Eric Alterman , the author of this awe-inspiring book , begs to differ

In a carefully thought of and researched work , Alterman has pointed out many flaws in the so-called most liberal ' media institution in the United States . As the title suggests , Alterman has raised a question as regards the supposition of the media to be the most liberal institution of the world - and constantly at war with conservative thoughts . In his book , Alterman shows how conservatives have been more than adequately represented in the media , and that the media is not all that liberal as it is portrayed to be

In a carefully analyzed and researched book , Alterman clearly brings his expertise and his reputation in every page . His distinguished credentials - a columnist for the Nation and a blogger on MSNBC .com - have clearly made the book much more exciting and interesting . The effect of his expertise is seen in his metaphorical representation of many theories surrounding and hyping the media , and his ability to be crisp and to the point at all times . Being the warhorse that he is , he has ensured that readers get the facts - cold and straight - and that his readers are spared unwanted preludes

The metaphor , which has been most impressive throughout the work , is that of an athletic contest . Alterman feels that right-to-center views find precedence among the fourth estate . This clearly means the isolation of left-to-center , or the conservative factions of American society . In such a case , the media is deliberately unfriendly to the left-to-center points of view

The manner of Alterman 's narration makes the reader flow with the thoughts he has so efficiently portrayed . It is a common notion , as mentioned earlier , to feel that the media is a liberal institution that supports mostly supports liberals . However , Alterman feels...