The News
A Groundwork Guide
by Peter Steven
series edited by Jane Springer
- Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens, Starred Selection
"[The Groundwork Guides] are excellent books, mandatory for school libraries and the increasing body of young people prepared to take ownership of the situations and problems previous generations have left them." — Globe and Mail
Too many of us have no choice about the type of news we receive. Too many of us remain ignorant of major issues and diverse opinions because the news isn't providing them. Over the past twenty years the news media has become more restricted, less diverse and of steadily declining quality. Fewer owners and managers control editorial policies, journalists have been sacked, and those who remain find themselves working at a faster pace on more superficial stories. Most of us rely on a dominant media, controlled by a few globalized giants. These groups have attained enormous financial and political power.
But as this book shows, the trends are not all bad. Outside the West, particularly in Asia, citizens receive better and more diverse news than ever before. Rising levels of literacy and education in India, Korea, Indonesia and China have fostered vastly increased newspaper circulations, and the Internet has brought a much broader world to some restricted societies.
close this panel...an excellent resource for today's high school-aged students.
The News is an informative and thought-provoking analysis...Highly recommended.
...offers plenty of food for thought about [the] topic in a clear, cogent way.
good for students
Steven makes a strong case for the power of the news media to shape our thinking about national and world events.
