Glasgow University Media Reader, Vol. 2 Book

I picked this up in my excitement over Presidential Campaign '08, but now I'm convinced that PC'08 gave me the flu. Nevertheless, I finished the book.

Shogan has over 50 years of experience in covering presidential campaigns and in this book tracks what he sees as mass media's increasingly unfair and dangerously influential coverage of the American electoral process. Interestingly, although this was written in 2001, his disappointment in the reporting of style over substance and the disproportionate scrutiny that some candidates face can be seen in the 2004 elections, with, e.g., the dissemination of the dishonest Swift Boat Veterans allegations and in the current election cycle with the attention paid to Mormonism, crying, Oprah, and Chuck Norris, rather than substantial policy analysis.

Good lord, there's that influenza feeling again.