Description
Book SynopsisPoliticians and the media are natural enemies. When politicians turn the public against the media, everyone loses - especially unbiased and courageous news reporting. Worse, when traditional reporters and media are displaced, the pundits and alternative media take over.
Trade ReviewI have covered many a presidential campaign with Craig Crawford, and I can honestly say that, of all the so-called 'political experts' out there, he definitely consumes the most cheeseburgers. -- Dave Barry
Craig Crawford has written a definitive book that throws new light on the roles of the press and officialdom with sparkling anecdotes that prove his point. He doesn't spare either side, but the First Amendment comes out a winner in this scintillating book. -- Helen Thomas, Dean, White House Press Corps, Hearst Columnist
How lies are made into the truth, and truth made into lies; how the liars come to be perceived as victims and the truth-tellers, evildoers. A cautionary story for those of all political stripes, to say nothing of journalists and those who consume information today, and Crawford's nailed it. -- Keith Olbermann, MSNBC
It's all here—the good, the bad, and the ugly . . . and cable, too—all compiled by a political pro with a jeweler's eye for detail and the distance vision of a fighter pilot. Craig Crawford knows his beat. -- Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor, NBC Nightly News
Craig's book made me alternately squeal with delight at the media's arrogance and curse his mother, Toby, for giving him life where he reveals the complicity of politicians in the contemporary degradation of political/press affairs. But Attack the Messenger is not about assigning blame; its an inspiration to stop the madness for democracy's sake. The media must stop presuming all politicians are corrupt, egomaniacal liars, and we pols have to consider the possibility that not all media are evil, self-serving, out-of-touch cynics. Both professions are anchored in ideas, populated with idealists who all rue their tradecrafts have degenerated to a point that devalues both their noble worlds and worse—the public they both long to serve. -- Mary Matalin, Republican political consultant
With wit and insider knowledge, Craig Crawford identifies America's Most Wanted: the con-men, spinners, character assassins, electronic demagogues, greedy bottom-liners, and barefaced liars who—with rather too much help from sloppiness in the media—are destroying public faith in the institution of a free press. This is a timely and entertaining book—which is more than I can say for most of the people in its gallery. -- Tina Brown,
Washington Post columnist and author
Impassioned dissection of the rapid devolution of the media's power in today's political environment...pull[s] together the principal moments of the ongoing struggles between the press and the government. * Publishers Weekly *
Crawford . . . is a Washington insider, a purveyor of inside wisdom and a collector of mind-numbing detail. -- David Shribman * St. Petersburg Times *
Provocative. . . . Mr. Crawford's book serves as a useful introduction to the issue at hand, providing a persuasive sketch of how the current White House, with assists from its two predecessors and a changing media landscape, has worked to undermine the mainstream press. -- Michiko Kakutani, Books of the Times Editor * The New York Times *
Crawford often writes engagingly and has his moments of perceptiveness and clarity. -- Margaret Sullivan, editor-in-chief, The Buffalo News * Washington Monthly *
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Turning the Tables Chapter 2 Blame the Messenger Chapter 3 A President Lies Chapter 4 Spinning Lies Chapter 5 A War Story Chapter 6 Who Will Tell the Truth? Chapter 7 The End of an Era Chapter 8 Winners and Losers Chapter 9 Media Culpa Chapter 10 How to Get the Real Story Chapter 11 What Now?
