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Unmasked: Big Media's War Against Trump
Lecturer, syndicated columnist, television commentator, debater, marketer, businessman, bestselling author, publisher and activist, L. Brent Bozell III is one of the most outspoken and effective national leaders in the conservative movement today. As Founder and President of the Media Research Center, Mr. Bozell runs the largest media watchdog organization in America, and is uniquely positioned to offer this blazing critique of bias of all types in the national media and how it damages American democracy. By analyzing the coverage of the rise of Donald Trump and his presidency, Bozell explains all the different types of bias that can occur and exposes the insidious effects. ENEMIES LIST will also examine the campaigns for the 2018 midterms – and the results – which will provide the most comprehensive, detailed, and explosive analysis to date of how the media stokes divisiveness in American politics.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2019
116 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 23, 2021
Want to know how it’s possible to write and about media bias and how “real” journalism involves only telling the truth then to proceed to monumentally shit the bed by being biased and lying? Then go ahead and read this grift. It’s actually a comedic attempt at pulling apart mainstream media, (which is needed but done much better by Noam Chomsky) and then spewing an even worse version of bias. It all reads like some whinging and whining made by someone who sees non existent culture wars and wants to add his propaganda into the mix to make a dollar.
July 6, 2019
President Lincoln is credited with saying, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the Time, BUT, You can't fool all of the people all of the time. I've observed that the MSM's policy is,"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time AND, That's good enough for us.
This book has the facts to prove this. What's worse is the fact that they are doing this deliberately and continue to do it regardless of the number of times they are caught and must reluctantly issue non-apology apologies.
Sensationalism without proof or facts is BS but still sells and gets ratings. I often switch between FOX and CNN during major news events; it's like they were covering two different events. CNN will edit out portions that don't support their position or agenda.
I know lying is a sin and lying to various authorities is a crime. Why aren't the MSM held to this standard?
Review by THE HOLEY ONE
This book has the facts to prove this. What's worse is the fact that they are doing this deliberately and continue to do it regardless of the number of times they are caught and must reluctantly issue non-apology apologies.
Sensationalism without proof or facts is BS but still sells and gets ratings. I often switch between FOX and CNN during major news events; it's like they were covering two different events. CNN will edit out portions that don't support their position or agenda.
I know lying is a sin and lying to various authorities is a crime. Why aren't the MSM held to this standard?
Review by THE HOLEY ONE
July 5, 2019
Wonderfuł I read it in one afternoon, in the hardback version, not the Kindle. He does not mince words in showing the hatred and vitriol cast against Trump beginning before the election to the present. He correctly points out that the Republicans did nothing when they had control of both houses and the presidency. Politics is leading the country down.
June 23, 2019
This book is a must-have for every conservative in America. It reads like a diary of sorts, laying out systematically the major strategies used since November 9, 2016 by the left-leaning, tabloid-inspired media rags to overturn the silent majority's election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president. This book also contains a plethora of verifiable, indisputable facts pointing directly to serious wrong-doings (and many times, criminal acts) by corrupt Democrat politicians and their political acolytes masquerading as "journalists" clamoring to serve them. "Unmasked" broadcasts the rallying cry that the silent majority in America must step up to the plate again in 2020 to re-elect President Trump and to elect a Trump-supporting Congress as our bastion against the pure fascism the left has renamed "democratic socialism".
L. Brent Bozell III and Tim Graham have produced a well written, easy-to-read book jam-packed with the truth that needed to be memorialized.
L. Brent Bozell III and Tim Graham have produced a well written, easy-to-read book jam-packed with the truth that needed to be memorialized.
March 26, 2022
Don't waste your time
July 25, 2020
This book is a subject close to my heart. Media biases, even by some reporters that I personally know and like, is what caused me to start trying to review the political books that I read in a from the center way. (Which seems to annoy those on both sides.) I’ll try to do the same with this book.
The author of the book is admittedly conservative. He admits that he supported Ted Cruz in the 2016 Republican Primary. He also contributed to the National Review’s anti-Trump special issue that year. While he is obviously from the right side of the political spectrum, he makes a good example backed case for his point that media coverage (especially in the Trump era) is extremely biased towards one side.
No matter what side of the political spectrum one comes from, it should be plainly obvious that the press coverage of President Trump has been resoundingly negative. Those on the left will say this coverage is justified, while those on the right will view it as a witch hunt. The author believes Trump has received more negative press coverage than any political figure in US history, and he makes a good case.
One thing that stands out in the early part of the book, is the NYT complaint that British tabloids were pushing a “national and anti-European agenda” during Brexit. Yet, Bari Weiss’ recent NYT resignation letter states they are doing the same thing here when it comes to the Trump administration and conservative policies.
Various organizations have found that the overall coverage of Donald Trump as a candidate and President has averaged 90% negative. To combat the idea that these are only organizations on the right, the book points to a study by the Harvard School of Government that found coverage of Trump averaged 80% negative, and never dropped below 70% negative in any week of his presidency. The study found CNN and NBC News had a 13-1 negative to positive story rate during Trump’s first 100 days. While the whole book can really be summed up in these numbers the details presented are what makes for an interesting read.
From the earliest days of Trump presidency, the media’s tendency towards hyperbole laid the foundation for Trump supporters distain for the media. Many of the media and commentators calling ALL Trump supporters racist and calling the election the “moral equivalent of 9/11” are presented by the author using direct quotes. On the morning of the election most outlets were predicting Hillary Clinton had a 98% chance to win. On October 21st, even Fox News was claiming Hillary Clinton would “trounce” Donald Trump in the election.
There’s great examples of how the media highlights only certain facts, crops photos or takes comments out of context to fit the narrative they are trying to put forward. The phrase “Fake News” has a lot of people up in arms, but as the author points out there’s been a lot of fake news, false news, biased news and opinion masquerading as fact in the media. (This is true of both right and left wing media outlets.) As one reporter interviewed in the in the book puts it, “...we blame Trump for why we are getting so much wrong. It’s a little bit like a police officer taking someone to jail for DUI, then driving home drunk himself.”
The part of the book I personally enjoyed the most was the section covering “fact checking”. Because over the last several years fact checking has become the norm, but as the author points out even the head of Politifact claims that fact checking can be subjective. Snopes, Politifact and the Washington post are all covered in this section of the book. The author points to the fact that these sites often fact check hyperbole or sarcasm coming from President Trump and other Republicans, but they often fail to do so with President Obama and other Democrats. Even the volume of fact checking is very skewed. Elizabeth Warren was fact checked 4 times compared to 114 times for Ted Cruz, despite both them starting at the same time. Sone may say this is because conservatives lie more, but honestly all politicians lie to get elected and push their agendas.
Overall, this is a very good book that backs up most of its claims with examples and facts. The author does go on a anti-Democratic politician rant towards the end of the book that seems a bit out of place with the tone of the rest of the book. The author is obviously conservative and biased against the other side, but most of the early part of the book keeps his bias tamped down. If not for the out of place overly political rant at the end this would be a 5 star book. I think that last part brings it down to a 4 star book. For those interested in politics and media in the Trump era this is definitely a book worth reading.
The author of the book is admittedly conservative. He admits that he supported Ted Cruz in the 2016 Republican Primary. He also contributed to the National Review’s anti-Trump special issue that year. While he is obviously from the right side of the political spectrum, he makes a good example backed case for his point that media coverage (especially in the Trump era) is extremely biased towards one side.
No matter what side of the political spectrum one comes from, it should be plainly obvious that the press coverage of President Trump has been resoundingly negative. Those on the left will say this coverage is justified, while those on the right will view it as a witch hunt. The author believes Trump has received more negative press coverage than any political figure in US history, and he makes a good case.
One thing that stands out in the early part of the book, is the NYT complaint that British tabloids were pushing a “national and anti-European agenda” during Brexit. Yet, Bari Weiss’ recent NYT resignation letter states they are doing the same thing here when it comes to the Trump administration and conservative policies.
Various organizations have found that the overall coverage of Donald Trump as a candidate and President has averaged 90% negative. To combat the idea that these are only organizations on the right, the book points to a study by the Harvard School of Government that found coverage of Trump averaged 80% negative, and never dropped below 70% negative in any week of his presidency. The study found CNN and NBC News had a 13-1 negative to positive story rate during Trump’s first 100 days. While the whole book can really be summed up in these numbers the details presented are what makes for an interesting read.
From the earliest days of Trump presidency, the media’s tendency towards hyperbole laid the foundation for Trump supporters distain for the media. Many of the media and commentators calling ALL Trump supporters racist and calling the election the “moral equivalent of 9/11” are presented by the author using direct quotes. On the morning of the election most outlets were predicting Hillary Clinton had a 98% chance to win. On October 21st, even Fox News was claiming Hillary Clinton would “trounce” Donald Trump in the election.
There’s great examples of how the media highlights only certain facts, crops photos or takes comments out of context to fit the narrative they are trying to put forward. The phrase “Fake News” has a lot of people up in arms, but as the author points out there’s been a lot of fake news, false news, biased news and opinion masquerading as fact in the media. (This is true of both right and left wing media outlets.) As one reporter interviewed in the in the book puts it, “...we blame Trump for why we are getting so much wrong. It’s a little bit like a police officer taking someone to jail for DUI, then driving home drunk himself.”
The part of the book I personally enjoyed the most was the section covering “fact checking”. Because over the last several years fact checking has become the norm, but as the author points out even the head of Politifact claims that fact checking can be subjective. Snopes, Politifact and the Washington post are all covered in this section of the book. The author points to the fact that these sites often fact check hyperbole or sarcasm coming from President Trump and other Republicans, but they often fail to do so with President Obama and other Democrats. Even the volume of fact checking is very skewed. Elizabeth Warren was fact checked 4 times compared to 114 times for Ted Cruz, despite both them starting at the same time. Sone may say this is because conservatives lie more, but honestly all politicians lie to get elected and push their agendas.
Overall, this is a very good book that backs up most of its claims with examples and facts. The author does go on a anti-Democratic politician rant towards the end of the book that seems a bit out of place with the tone of the rest of the book. The author is obviously conservative and biased against the other side, but most of the early part of the book keeps his bias tamped down. If not for the out of place overly political rant at the end this would be a 5 star book. I think that last part brings it down to a 4 star book. For those interested in politics and media in the Trump era this is definitely a book worth reading.
August 26, 2019
This book is great for Democrats who want to get an understanding of why people voted for Trump. Half of this book was really great, the other half was partisan ranting. The first half was a fairly well written and convincing research piece laying out the case for Trump, and citing statistics of coverage for his first two years in office. The second half is mostly a terrible rant that makes it really hard to read. It's filled with assumptions, generalizations, and improvable hypotheses ("what if they said that about Obama?...") The chapter on Hollywood is particularly bad.
What I really liked about this book is how the authors are fair about some of the shortcomings of Trump and is critical of the Republicans that created the need for a Trump character. It is clearly a pro Trump book, but the authors get a great amount of credibility for this.
What bothered me most of all is the same with most of these political books (on both sides)- at times is creates this artificial "us" vs "them" dichotomy. "All liberals think this way, so if you didn't vote for Trump you must be a liberal!"
Take the good with the bad and it's overall 3 stars
What I really liked about this book is how the authors are fair about some of the shortcomings of Trump and is critical of the Republicans that created the need for a Trump character. It is clearly a pro Trump book, but the authors get a great amount of credibility for this.
What bothered me most of all is the same with most of these political books (on both sides)- at times is creates this artificial "us" vs "them" dichotomy. "All liberals think this way, so if you didn't vote for Trump you must be a liberal!"
Take the good with the bad and it's overall 3 stars
Read
August 13, 2019this book was quite an eye opener as it lists a lot of the things that have been done against President trump. Most of it focuses on the press and how biased they are. After I see the list I am not at all surprised that President Trump is mad and fights back as more than 90% of all reporting is negative against him. I do not think that the number should be 50% as depends on what you do.
It is obvious that this was not the treatment Barack Obama got by the MSM. It also discusses the quality of these media reports. Many are as outrageous as the statements Trump has himself made. The most obvious one is the claim they made that Trump was a Russian agent and has committed treason. Now that we have the Muller report we know tha this is just not true and yet no one is ashamed or even sorry they lied or mis-led us in this.
Worth the read.
It is obvious that this was not the treatment Barack Obama got by the MSM. It also discusses the quality of these media reports. Many are as outrageous as the statements Trump has himself made. The most obvious one is the claim they made that Trump was a Russian agent and has committed treason. Now that we have the Muller report we know tha this is just not true and yet no one is ashamed or even sorry they lied or mis-led us in this.
Worth the read.
September 14, 2019
This is one of the best new books of the modern political era. “Unmasked” presents an all-encompassing retrospective of 2016, 2017 and 2018. Furthermore, I’m willing to wager the book might be as profound a read a decade from now as some of the first books about Obama’s first term are. Although it caters to a Republican/conservative audience, the authors don’t tip their hand too far into blatant hero-worship, yet at the same time, refuse to indulge in rambling. The stories and circumstances are presented case-by-case, as well as very easy to comprehend. (And yes, I personally thought this was superior to Mark Levin’s “Unfreedom of the Press”).
September 6, 2021
I used to read the newspaper daily. Those were probably their best days. The MSM today is like a a bunch of rabid dogs. They really think they pulled the wool over our eyes. This book confirms what we suspected. It explains why things just didn't add up. We knew we were being bombarded with fake articles. Sometimes this book just made me cry for America. How do the liars sleep at night? President Trump did not deserve the media's personal assaults, but he stood up against the giants & gained the world's respect. MSM, we know what you did.
February 9, 2025
The book is great at listing and describing the "low points" of an obviously decrepit, biased and sometimes treasonous mass media. No serious person can say now that the press is useful other than as a source of ideological arguments. The book is basically an enlarged pamphlet, which could have put the 220+ pages into 100-125 pages. Quality, not page count make for good reading. This tome; not terrible but not great.
July 6, 2019
Informative but a bit repetitive
If you follow conservative news channels and sites you will be underwhelmed with this book.
Decent but nothing new here, Sean Hannity has us all already up to speed.
If you follow conservative news channels and sites you will be underwhelmed with this book.
Decent but nothing new here, Sean Hannity has us all already up to speed.
October 2, 2019
A good title
Well written and very true, it exposes all of the media idiots, journalists that are just pure trash, a bunch of crooks and murders, it shows because of their love of trash like the Clinton's and Obama's.
Well written and very true, it exposes all of the media idiots, journalists that are just pure trash, a bunch of crooks and murders, it shows because of their love of trash like the Clinton's and Obama's.
July 26, 2019
Great read! The war against Trump is so evident that even liberals have to admit that it is happening.
March 11, 2020
Loved this book, unfortunately the left will never consider reading or take any notice. Hear no evil, see no evil.
March 25, 2020
88-94% negative coverage of Trump. The books provides endless examples.
April 27, 2021
This was a very eye opening read!
October 23, 2021
Bozell makes a strong case.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews