The New Power Elite

This dramatic, important dissection of our daily newspapers by the Washington Post 's media reporter exposes the decline of press power since the heady days of Watergate. Kurtz blasts the tabloidization of newspapers, which increasingly concentrate on the Trumps' marital troubles and the bedrooms of Gary Hart and Bill Clinton; this overshadows the continuing and costly scandals involving HUD and the nation's S&Ls in the Reagan years. Kurtz examines the print medium's sorry record on racial issues and the passivity of correspondents during the Persian Gulf war, when the military managed the news. He also analyzes the impact of USA Today on both page makeup and news coverage, concluding that its sound bites are insufficient to keep the reading public informed. Contending that ``the smell of death'' surrounds many newspapers, Kurtz offers 11 remedies from ``Make People Mad'' to ``Set the Agenda.'' First serial to Washington Post Magazine. (Apr.)