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Breaking: How the Media Works, When it Doesn't and Why it Matters
'Brimming with intelligence, energy, ethics and impeccable research' Samira Ahmed
'An authoritative guide to improving your media literacy' The Big Issue
The modern media is breaking.
Now, more than ever, the media is crucial in shaping what we know about the world around us. So what happens when this vital part of our society fails in its basic role and how can we even begin to understand the mess it's in?
From those who own the news and the battle for balance at the BBC, to the intricacies of political journalism and the trade's ethics, the modern media is as complex as it is flawed. Through personal experience of the newsrooms and insider interviews, journalist Mic Wright strips the engine of information, entertainment and propaganda back to its constituent parts and lays it bare. In this revealing deep-dive, Breaking shows how our news media works and, ultimately, how it doesn't.
With his frank and comprehensive analysis, Mic equips the reader with the tools to better interrogate our media, separating the fair from the ethically dubious, the truths from the half-truths . . . and the down-right lies.
'An authoritative guide to improving your media literacy' The Big Issue
The modern media is breaking.
Now, more than ever, the media is crucial in shaping what we know about the world around us. So what happens when this vital part of our society fails in its basic role and how can we even begin to understand the mess it's in?
From those who own the news and the battle for balance at the BBC, to the intricacies of political journalism and the trade's ethics, the modern media is as complex as it is flawed. Through personal experience of the newsrooms and insider interviews, journalist Mic Wright strips the engine of information, entertainment and propaganda back to its constituent parts and lays it bare. In this revealing deep-dive, Breaking shows how our news media works and, ultimately, how it doesn't.
With his frank and comprehensive analysis, Mic equips the reader with the tools to better interrogate our media, separating the fair from the ethically dubious, the truths from the half-truths . . . and the down-right lies.
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Published June 12, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 17, 2025
This is acerbic, entertaining, and forthright (especially on the distinction between organic, processed, and artificial news). Avid readers of media criticism will be familiar with much of it, but the one-liners are almost worth the cover price alone. It is also a good education in media literacy and would be a good addition to any reading list. There’s also hope, which is always worthy, and this is allied to a fairly current speculation about the future of the news media.
July 11, 2025
Fascinating and timely examination of the state of modern media, building from the early years of the press barons up to the modern day when tech billionaires have decided to not make the news better but to instead make it differently worse. Recommended reading for anyone who wants to know how the news as it happens in the world becomes the stuff we see in print/online/on video; or don't see, depending who is in control.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews