Free the Press: The Death of American Journalism and How to Revive It

Karem, the senior White House correspondent for Playboy, blends memoir, history, and call to action in this impassioned look at how government manipulation and economic pressures have led to the decline of U.S. journalism over the past few decades. He notes that most of the newspapers and television stations where he worked over the past 37 years have been closed or dramatically altered, and details steps government officials have taken since the Vietnam War to make it more difficult for reporters to obtain public information. He also criticizes the 1987 elimination of the fairness doctrine that required holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial matters of public interest in a manner that was “honest, equitable, and balanced,” the 1996 Telecommunications Act that set off a wave of corporate mergers and takeovers, and the Obama administration’s aggressive use of the Espionage Act to prosecute whistleblowers who leak to journalists. Karem also notes that politicians including Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump have scored points with their supporters by attacking the “media elite,” and calls on lawmakers to enforce antitrust laws to “break up media monopolies.” Enlivened by Karem’s vivid memories of the “good old days,” this is a trenchant study of what ails the American press. (Dec.)