The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Loves Them

From Publishers Weekly
Journalist and radio host Goodman brings her hard-hitting, no-holds-barred brand of reporting to an array of human rights, government accountability and media responsibility issues, and the result is bracing and timely. Goodman isn't about to let anyone slide by with easy explanations, not even then President Clinton when he called in on her daily Pacifica news show. And she is fierce and tireless in her commitment to dig behind official versions of the facts to get to very different stories. Her analysis of Iraq War contracts won by certain key Bush campaign donors will open many eyes, not only with its neat comparison of donation amount with contract value but also with its bold presentation of "Crony Connections." A gadfly's life in these turbulent times is neither restful nor boring, and Goodman's perspective on events like genocidal massacres in East Timor and mainstream coverage of the Jessica Lynch rescue is both important and alarming. Instances in which newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post have published stories based on leaked reports from unnamed government sources only to have to retract the stories later as being unfounded allow Goodman to argue that sophisticated news management techniques of spin, disinformation and controlled access to sources are undermining the reliability of media reporting. How, she asks, could journalists "embedded" with U.S. troops in Iraq be objective reporters of all that was occurring there, and whose interests were being served? These and other provocative questions power Goodman's stirring call for a democratic media serving a democratic society.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Goodman's high-octane blend of investigative journalism and political activism has been the force behind Pacifica radio's Democracy Now!, earning her praise and vitriol alike (not to mention nearly getting her killed by Indonesians in East Timor). Her first book, coauthored with her brother, David, recounts some of her most hard-hitting confrontations with corporate types and politicos of all persuasions, covering much of the same territory as other anti-Bush books and then some, at a compelling, breathless pace. Her real target, however, is not the oil-defense-politics Establishment, but their enablers, the media, which are cowed less by their corporate owners than by their own capacity for self-censorship in the guise of patriotism. NPR listeners, New York Times readers, you're not off the hook; Goodman is just as frustrated with your news outlets' silence when it comes to dead Iraqi civilians and antiwar viewpoints. Although her suggestions for how, exactly, to infuse media with integrity are perhaps quieter than her condemnations of hypocrisy, Goodman's vision for media's role in society is as vigorous as her confidence in the power of motivated communities. Brendan Driscoll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Danny Glover, actor
". . . provides and important forum for people around the world who are engaged in social justice and social change."


Book Description
The acclaimed host of Pacifica Network's Democracy Now! challenges the corporate and political hypocrisy that has silenced America.Bill Clinton called her, "Hostile, combative, and even disrespectful." Newt Gingrich told her that it was because of "people like you" that he warned his mother not to speak to reporters. The New York Times says she's a "reporter who's not easy-listening." The Indonesian military banned her, calling her a "threat to national security."Amy Goodman's The Exception to the Rulers, written with her brother David Goodman, chronicles the tireless efforts of an unembedded journalist and her colleagues to get to the truth and expose the lies, corruption and crimes of the power elite-an elite that is bolstered by large media conglomerates.For years, award-winning journalist Amy Goodman has confronted the Washington establishment and its corporate cronies. She hosts the national radio and TV show Democracy Now!, now the largest public media collaboration in North America and a phenomenal grassroots movement. Her goal is "to go to where the silence is, to give voice to the silenced majority."Now, in her first book, Amy Goodman offers her no-holds-barred perspective on world events and the hidden motives behind those in power. On subjects ranging from the deceptions of the George W. Bush administration, war profiteering in Iraq, to the corruption of media monopolies and corporate influence over the government, Amy Goodman attacks and exposes the lies and hypocrisy that put democracy at risk.


Download Description
She reduced Sally Jesse Rafael to tears. Charlie Rose was red in the face after her comments. Bill Clinton called her "hostile, combative, and even disrespectful." Newt Gingrich said to her, "You're the kind of reporter I warned my mother about." Meet Amy Goodman, award-winning journalist and host of a daily hour-long talk show that is a beacon for passionate, critical and hard-hitting news that cow-tows to no one. On subjects ranging from the deceptions of the Bush Administration to media monopolies and from the Patriot Act to corporate influence over the government, Amy Goodman attacks and exposes the lies and hypocrisy of officialdom everywhere.


About the Author
Amy Goodman is an internationally acclaimed journalist and a media phenomenon who has received several top journalism awards. In addition to hosting her daily radio show, Goodman speaks on the topic of media activism to audiences nationwide -- on university campuses and before human rights, church, and community groups. She lives in New York City. David Goodman is an independent journalist and author, most recently of the critically acclaimed Fault Lines: Journeys in the New South Africa. He lives with his wife and two children in Vermont.


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Danny Glover, actor. . . provides and important forum for people around the world who are engaged in social justice and social change. — Danny Glover


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