cover image The Coming Battle for the Media: Curbing the Power of the Media Elite

The Coming Battle for the Media: Curbing the Power of the Media Elite

William A. Rusher. William Morrow & Company, $18.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-688-06433-4

Conservative spokesman Rusher, TV commentator and author (The Rise of the Right), here attacks the liberal bias he perceives as dominating the American media, both electronic and print. He cites surveys indicating that newspapers, radio and television staffers tend to favor liberal policies in their own thinking and argues that such personal attitudes are likely to affect selection as well as coverage of the news. He mentions instances when the media have displayed what he sees as strident anticonservatism, and he criticizes, among others, the Supreme Court for broadening the media's First Amendment rights. Rusher argues that conservatives can and must systematically counter this liberal edge by enforcing the Fairness Doctrine, internal and external monitoring, takeovers of liberal or centrist organs and training more conservatives to work in the media. This is a hard-hitting indictment of media mores, sure to be controversial. (April)