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The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone On The Media (2011)

by Brooke Gladstone(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0393077799 (ISBN13: 9780393077797)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: I found out about this book because my high school reads another book by the illustrator, Josh Neufeld, called A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. I picked it out of our bookroom because I thought, Oh, cool... we talk about Katrina in a case study over federalism. Flip to the back: the notes on the author point out The Influencing Machine. It is an incredibly quick read... very witty and direct. And on point. For instance: The book opens with a really great overview of media history that is perfect for the high school classroom, or just for anyone who wants to know more about how media evolved. The only thing I wish they would have covered in this section is that the UK does not have an expressed guarantee of the freedom of press, and what little rights there are under the... more 1998 Human Rights Act are severely limited. Would cast an interesting light on the evolution of free press in America. I would love my kids to read up on bias, which Gladstone succinctly outlines on pages 60 to 70, and then applies in the discussion of how war is covered by broadcast journalism from pages 71-96. In the chapter Existential Angst (p. 22-35), we learn a bit about the Alien and Sedition Acts and how they were used against Daniel Ellsburg in the Pentagon Papers Case. I love the section on objectivity, specifically pgs. 103-110... Gladstone goes onto to critique the public's faith in the media, and some successes and failures by the media (pgs. 35-56) and finally rounds out her discussion with how media can be used in the future given technological advances, echo chambers in social media, first person reporting, and self selecting media consumption. In sum... I went out and bought myself a copy of this book so that I can use it in my classroom. It's a super easy read (I read the whole thing over two days) and is easy to understand. I really think my students will love it and get a lot out of it.
review 2: I like this graphic non-fiction by Brooke Gladstone and illustrator Josh Neufeld. It's a critique of the news media as well as the consumers of news. Gladstone says the news business can only be as good as much as the journalists and readers guard against their own biases and limitations. She says we get the news media we deserve. I don't think we readers have as much control over the news we get as that indictment implies but I mostly agree. less

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