No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle Book

Fascinating analysis of the state of news reporting in the run up to the 2008 US Presidential election. It traces the technological changes that have affected the industry with the advent of 24 hour television "news" and the impact of the internet and its burgeoning wave of bloggers and alternative "news" media. The need for continuous novelty and content means that speed of response takes priority over accuracy. "Report immediately, correct later" increasingly seems to be the dominant philosophy within news media organisations.

The authors also touch on how stories are routinely presented as having two equal and opposing interpretations purely for entertainment purposes. The binary conflict of news commentators and analysts engaging in tit-for-tat point scoring is designed to keep people watching or clicking to the next advert.

Despite being nearly 10 years old, this book is still essential reading for those who want to take a step back from the shrill clamouring of "news" whether in newspapers, television, radio or social media and understand a little more about why it looks the way it does and perhaps try to navigate it more critically.