Who stole the news?

Even as this book goes to press, a war that could lead to a nuclear exchange between Pakistan and India is brewing in the Vale of Kashmir. The economies of France and Germany are headed towards the rocks. Yet most of us will not hear about developments like these until they explode, despite the fact that reporters are better equipped than ever to bring us the stories. Who Stole the News? offers a sharp, candid analysis of the reasons why the public isn't getting enough information to follow the events that shape their lives. In this provocative investigation of a crime that affects every one of us, Associated Press senior foreign correspondent Mort Rosenblum draws on twenty-five years of experience in 180 countries as well as firsthand accounts of his colleagues, including established superstars and emerging new talent. He identifies deep flaws in the news business and dispels the myth of a brain-dead public, its finger twitching restlessly over the remote button. The blame for critical gaps in our knowledge, Rosenblum asserts, falls largely on the shoulders of executives obsessed with ratings and quarterly earnings, who favor entertainment over information and who, ignoring evidence to the contrary, continue to underestimate the public's taste for stories that reach beyond their backyards. But other factors compound the problem. Criss-crossing five continents, Rosenblum takes us behind the scenes to reveal exactly what happens to the news. From the fall of Ceaucescu's Romania to the media circus in Mogadishu, from war-ravaged Bosnia to Operation Desert Storm, we find him and his colleagues ducking bullets and facing off warlords while trying to skirt their own government's efforts tocontrol the news that filters back to the home front. Legendary reporters and "snappers" (news photographers) demonstrate remarkable daredevilry and heroism, going to the edge of lunacy, to get (and sometimes make) a story. Yet the pack mentality manages to distort the facts, and courageous efforts to offer a balanced and thorough view of world affairs can fall victim to the pundits and pollsters, the bean-counters, public relations firms, and other public and private concerns who filter the news and consequently keep us in the dark. In this remarkably incisive examination of the business of world news reporting, Mort Rosenblum probes its problems and enormous potential. Not since his classic Coups and Earthquakes has there been such a far-reaching critique.