ADVENTURES IN MEDIALAND: Behind the News, Beyond the Pundits

by Jeff Cohen and Norman Soloman

Common Courage PressAdventures In Medialand compiles 59 articles by syndicated media critics Cohen and Soloman. Both authors ar e involved in FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting), a national media-watch group. Reader's of FAIR's bimonthly Extra! magazine will be familiar with most of the ground covered here Ñ current media events such as the 1992 Presidential Race, ÒPCÓ-bashi ng, and AIDS coverage. For example, FAIR's study on television coverage is a welcome inclusion. An October 1992 FAIR poll of 600 likely voters found that the more TV news voters watched, the less they actually knew about the issues. 89% of the respondents could identify the Bush family dog, Millie, while only 19% could identify the Reagan cabinet member indicted in the Iran-Contra scandal, Caspar Weinberger.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending upon where you're coming from), the after-the-fact app roach tends to oversimplify in the interest of timeliness. Casual use of statistics and unannotated studies raise unnecessary doubts to Cohen and Soloman's findings Ñ nothing that couldn't be fixed with a good bibliography (there is none) or at least directions for further reading.

As a collection of essays, Medialand makes for an easily-digested, left-handed intro to media criticism. It may not transform your world view, but it's a good place to start. (Carrie McLaren)