Why does the media always blow the big stories? From 9/11 to Iraq’s WMDs, from Iran’s nuclear program to the “inevitable” Hillary Clinton—the divide between reality and the so-called “news” has never been more dramatic or dangerous.

In The Kingmakers Senator Mike Gravel and Dr. David Eisenbach argue that the media’s failure to present the public with an accurate view of the world poses a greater threat to American lives than terrorism. They also show how the greatest threat to our democracy is not money. It’s the media. Long before the majority of voters pay attention to presidential elections, the media Kingmakers filter the presidential field and anoint the “leading candidates.”

Gravel and Eisenbach propose a powerful antidote to the Kingmakers’ poisonous influence on American politics: participatory journalism. Blogs, chat rooms, virtual worlds and Internet contributions have empowered ordinary citizens to change the course of American history and inaugurate a new wave of democratization that America hasn’t seen since the Jacksonian era.

About the Authors
Senator Mike Gravel represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate from 1969-81. In 1971, he waged a one-man filibuster for five months that forced the Nixon administration to end the Vietnam draft. He is most prominently known for his release of the Pentagon Papers, the secret official study that revealed the lies and manipulations of successive U.S. administrations during the Vietnam Era. Gravel is author of Citizen Power, reissued in 2008, and is currently running for the Presidency of the United States.

David Eisenbach, PhD teaches media and politics at Columbia University. His first book, Gay Power: An American Revolution (2006), explains how the gay rights movement used the media to transform the nation’s political and social landscape. Dr. Eisenbach is the communications director for Senator Mike Gravel’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Click Here to read about Senator Mike Gravel and The Kingmakers at LibraryJournal.com

STARRED REVIEW
Former Senator Gravel and Eisenbach collaborate in this searing denunciation of the American media, which they posit is "the biggest threat to our democracy." According to the authors, the media marginalize dissenting voices and fail to provide the public with accurate news coverage, being content with regurgitating unconfirmed—and often blatantly untrue—reports from establishment figures. The authors dissect the "media echo chamber" and contagion of lazy journalism, debunking the lies and half-truths that they argue the media have accepted without scrutiny and irresponsibly repeated to the public. In frightening detail, this book illustrates how political elites manipulated the media to deceive the world about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and attempt to pursue war with Iran, using staged photo ops (George W. Bush posing under the "Mission Accomplished" banner) and fabricating events—as in the case of the eventually disproved account of Pvt. Jessica Lynch's heroics. The authors call for "participatory journalism," which will empower Americans to engage in online political debate. This important book is a valuable contribution to that debate and ought to be essential reading for all Americans. - Publishers Weekly

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