“Skewed: A Critical Thinker’s Guide to Media Bias,” by Larry Atkins
(Prometheus Books, pp 280, $24.00)
I am not sure how many people have read this book so far . . . But given what we now know about the Presidential elections fiasco, meant here as the shocking Trump’s victory, “Skewed,” should have been a must-read for all political parties and media outlets involved. That no polls had predicted the baffling result only makes Atkins’ point more trenchant. The fact that we had never seen such political polarization and dismissal of facts, makes “Skewed,” an even more essential read.
“Skewed,” is a history of media, an analysis of the current situation of the landscape, and a courageous attempt of explain why advocacy journalism has only grown in its domination of opinions in newspapers, talk radio, news network, and the internet. The keyword here is ‘biases,’ which only leave listeners and readers stranded in competing and conflicting worldviews, where truth is often only a matter of opinions. Agenda driven, selective used of data, have resulted in a bipolar landscape, which, as we have witnessed, fails to hear those without voices. An insightful book to lift up the one-sided blindness of our time.