The More You Watch, The Less You Know

The More You Watch, The Less You Know, Danny Schechter, Seven Stories Press, 1997

When more Americans know the sum that Jim Carrey received for his last movie than can find America on a map, there is something seriously wrong with the American news media and how people get their news. This book gives a 30-year, inside, look at what has happened to American TV news.

Schechter started his professional journalism career as news director and "news dissector" in the 1970s at WBCN Radio in Boston. He later entered the world of TV producing, including a local issues talk show and the first, late-night, live variety show. He joined an upstart network called CNN, producing a daily, night time talk show. Moving to ABC, he spent the next eight years on the show 20/20 as a producer and investigative reporter. Going on his own, he started the company Globalvision, and produced the acclaimed shows "South Africa Now" and "Rights & Wrongs".

Along the way, Schechter makes many observations about the state of TV journalism. Foreign news has been cut way back, because people supposedly aren't interested, and because it lessens profits. The range of "acceptable" political opinion is from A to B. "Juicy" stories like O.J. or JonBenet Ramsey are pumped up to increase profits. The recent spate of media mergers have accelerated downsizing and cost-cutting that have hurt the quality of TV news. Entire research departments have been replaced by the Lexis-Nexis research service.

As an independent producer, Schechter saw, firsthand, the difficulty in getting his shows, or films about South Africa, on the air, including on PBS, the network that was supposedly designed for such things. Globalvision was forced into an almost constant journey through the world of philanthropy, looking for funding to stay afloat. Today, Schechter is still dissecting the news at www.mediachannel.org.

Perhaps a little better as My Life in TV News than as media analysis, this is still an excellent and easy to read book from someone who spent years on the inside. It's especially recommended for that large number of Americans who call TV their main source of news.