Behind the Bits

Book excerpt: Behind the Bits provides a broad overview of the media field, addressing all areas, but focusing on television and the driving forces behind it. The authors unveil the interlocking network that structures power in the media world: business, government, and the increasingly concentrated upper echelons of the media itself. Beginning with an examination of truth in advertising, the discussion moves to an analysis of news editing and the different forces behind the release of information to the public through the media. Also analyzed is the increasing effect of electronic technology on the media and where it may be headed in the next century. The book's practical nature provides questions for discussion with each chapter and suggestions for a more critical evaluative attitude toward the media.