MediaThink

James Winter unveils the structure, means and methods--philosophical, technical, and financial--of the mainstream media. Increasingly the media are owned by a small group of very large corporations run by the corporate élite. Instead of offering diverse perspectives on events and issues, Winter believes that the corporate media portray an increasingly myopic and orthodox picture of the world around us, and, the consistency with which they do this has its consequent, intended effect on public opinion and policy formation. Citing international events, this book introduces the idea of "mediathink"--the means by which the media create a particular picture of the world in our heads. In recent years mediathink has included an emphasis on tax cuts, social program slashing, globalization, free trade, and competitiveness. We've seen the manufacture of deficit hysteria as an excuse for slashing the social safety net. Deficit hysteria is also a generalized strategy for reducing the role of government in society, increasing unemployment, driving down wages, and otherwise attacking the poor and downtrodden. Knowing that we have the need, the audience, the progressive journalists, and writers for a truly hard-hitting alternative media force, Winters calls for a major reorganization of alternative media that would get us out from under this oppressive system of mediathink. James Winter, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Communication Studies at the University of Windsor, and editor and publisher of the award-winning, muckraking web daily, Flipside. He is one of Canada's most knowledgeable media critics, author of Common Cents: Media Portrayal of the Gulf War and Other Events (1992), and the critically acclaimed Democracy's Oxygen: How the Corporations Control the News (1997), both published by Black Rose Books.