Watchdogs Of Democracy

Author : Helen Thomas
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1416548610
Total Pages : 243 pages
Book Rating : 4.14/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Watchdogs of Democracy? written by Helen Thomas and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-12-01 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the course of more than sixty years spent covering Washington politics, Helen Thomas has witnessed a raft of fundamental changes in the way news is gathered and reported. Gone are the days of frequent firsthand contact with the president. Now, the press sees the president only at tightly controlled and orchestrated press conferences. In addition, Thomas sees a growing -- and alarming -- reluctance among reporters to question government spokesmen and probe for the truth. The result has been a wholesale failure by journalists to fulfill what is arguably their most vital role in contemporary American life -- to be the watchdogs of democracy. Today's journalists, according to Thomas, have become subdued, compromised lapdogs. Here, the legendary journalist and bestselling author delivers a hard-hitting manifesto on the precipitous decline in the quality and ethics of political reportage -- and issues a clarion call for change. Thomas confronts some of the most significant issues of the day, including the jailing of reporters, the conservative swing in television news coverage, and the administration's increased insistence on "managed" news. But she is most emphatic about reporters' failure to adequately question President George W. Bush and White House spokesmen about the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, and on subjects ranging from homeland security to the economy. This, she insists, was a dire lapse. Drawing on her peerless knowledge of journalism, Washington politics, and nine presidential administrations, as well as frank interviews with leading journalists past and present, Thomas provides readers with a rich historical perspective on the roots of American journalism, the circumstances attending the rise and fall of its golden age, and the nature and consequences of its current shortcomings. The result is a powerful, eye-opening discourse on the state of political reportage -- as well as a welcome and inspiring demand for meaningful and lasting reform.

Author : Richard Cordray
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0197503012
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.10/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Watchdog written by Richard Cordray and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-03 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every day across America, consumers face issues with credit cards, mortgages, car loans, and student loans. When they are cheated or mistreated, all too often they hit a brick wall against the financial companies. People are fed up with being run over by big corporations, and few have the resources or expertise to fight back on their own. It is no wonder consumers feel powerless: they are outgunned every step of the way. Since 1970, the financial industry has doubled in size. It is the biggest source of campaign contributions to federal candidates and parties, spending about $1 billion annually on campaigns and another $500 million on lobbying. The four biggest banks each now has more than $1 trillion in assets. Financial products have become a mass of fine print that consumers can hardly even read, let alone understand. Growing problems in the increasingly one-sided finance markets blew up the economy in 2008. In the aftermath, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Sharing the stories of individual consumers, Watchdog shows how the Bureau quickly became a powerful force for good, suing big banks for cheating or deceiving consumers, putting limits on predatory lenders, simplifying mortgage paperwork, and stepping in to help solve problems raised by individual consumers. It tells a hopeful story of how our system can be reformed by putting government back on the side of the people, to strengthen our families, safeguard the marketplace, and establish a new baseline of fairness in our democratic society.

Author : Silvio Waisbord
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231506540
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.46/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Watchdog Journalism in South America written by Silvio Waisbord and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2000-05-25 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: -- Scott L. Althaus, Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics

Author : Arthur S. Hayes
Publisher : Praeger
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Press Critics Are the Fifth Estate written by Arthur S. Hayes and published by Praeger. This book was released on 2008-06-30 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robust, uninhibited, provocative, and even scurrilous criticism of corporate media by the Fifth Estate—composed of private citizens and watchdog and partisan groups of all stripes—is vital to the functioning of the American democratic process. Hayes reviews the historical development of press criticism since the 1880s in each of ten categories: muckrakers, journalism reviews, columnists and authors, television press critics, press councils, advocacy groups, scholars, ombudsmen, bloggers, and satirists. The author provides nine case studies of recent press criticism campaigns that have, though widely vilified as uncivil or marginalized as kooky, contributed significantly to checking the pretensions of corporate media to an unwholesome monopoly on journalistic truth.

Author : John Street
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1137015551
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.56/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Mass Media, Politics and Democracy written by John Street and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2010-12-09 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This widely used and popular text provides a broad-ranging analysis of the relationship between the media and politics. Revised and updated throughout, this second edition includes coverage of the mediatization of politics; of E-politics and governance; of the impact of 'reality TV'; and of issues raised by the reporting of war in Iraq.

Author : BusinessNews Publishing,
Publisher : Primento
ISBN 13 : 2511002841
Total Pages : 18 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Summary: Watchdogs of Democracy? written by BusinessNews Publishing, and published by Primento. This book was released on 2017-01-30 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The must-read summary of Helen Thomas's book: “Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How it Has Failed the Public ”. This complete summary of "Watchdogs of Democracy?" by Helen Thomas, former member of the White House press corps, presents her argument that the press is failing in its duty to monitor democracy in the White House. She adds that she believes there is no hope for democracy if the truth is not recounted through political reportage. Added-value of this summary: • Save time • Understand the role of the White House press corps • Expand your knowledge of American politics and the media To learn more, read "Watchdogs of Democracy?" and discover how journalists have hitherto been failing in their duty to protect American democracy.

Author : Mark Bovens
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199641250
Total Pages : 737 pages
Book Rating : 4.53/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Oxford Handbook Public Accountability written by Mark Bovens and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-04 with total page 737 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on the best scholars in the field from around the world, this handbook showcases conceptual and normative as well as the empirical approaches in public accountability studies.

Author : Linda L. Fowler
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400866464
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.65/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Watchdogs on the Hill written by Linda L. Fowler and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-03-22 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An essential responsibility of the U.S. Congress is holding the president accountable for the conduct of foreign policy. In this in-depth look at formal oversight hearings by the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, Linda Fowler evaluates how the legislature's most visible and important watchdogs performed from the mid-twentieth century to the present. She finds a noticeable reduction in public and secret hearings since the mid-1990s and establishes that American foreign policy frequently violated basic conditions for democratic accountability. Committee scrutiny of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, she notes, fell below levels of oversight in prior major conflicts. Fowler attributes the drop in watchdog activity to growing disinterest among senators in committee work, biases among members who join the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, and motives that shield presidents, particularly Republicans, from public inquiry. Her detailed case studies of the Truman Doctrine, Vietnam War, Panama Canal Treaty, humanitarian mission in Somalia, and Iraq War illustrate the importance of oversight in generating the information citizens need to judge the president’s national security policies. She argues for a reassessment of congressional war powers and proposes reforms to encourage Senate watchdogs to improve public deliberation about decisions of war and peace. Watchdogs on the Hill investigates America’s national security oversight and its critical place in the review of congressional and presidential powers in foreign policy.

Author : Julianne Schultz
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521629706
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.05/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Reviving the Fourth Estate written by Julianne Schultz and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-11-16 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The news media is traditionally the watchdog of democracy. Today, it is also one of the most pervasive global industries. In this lively and accessible book, Schultz systematically analyses the role of journalism in Australia and the scope of its democratic purpose. She examines key news stories, and looks at the attitudes of Australian journalists themselves. The fourth estate remains the ideal of most journalists, but the reality has been impaired by the increasing concentration of media ownership and by political, ethical and occupational interests. While Australian journalism has become bolder and more investigative, increasing commercialism and decreasing ethical standards have left the public sceptical. Schultz argues for a revival of the fourth estate based on journalistic independence and poltical autonomy, together with increased accountability and responsiveness.

Author : Daniel L. Feldman
Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 1438449291
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.96/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Art of the Watchdog written by Daniel L. Feldman and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Expert advice on how any citizen can fight government fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption. Does government fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption make your blood boil? In The Art of the Watchdog, Daniel L. Feldman and David R. Eichenthal show how to fight back. Based on their own work in federal, state, and local government over the last forty years, they will arm you with the tools and techniques needed to put the spotlight on those who cheat and steal from the public or who squander valuable taxpayer dollars through waste and inefficiency. At the same time, Feldman and Eichenthal outline what they see as the good and the bad of current oversight efforts based on case studies from across the nation. Ultimately their goal is to ensure that the “art of the watchdog” does not become a lost one and to improve the quality and integrity of government and strengthen democracy. “In The Art of the Watchdog, Feldman and Eichenthal offer a comprehensive overview of the world of oversight from the perspective of two authors who have been around the block a time or two. If you want to understand the different forms of watchdogs and how they both succeed and fail, there is no better resource available.” — Neil M. Barofsky, author of Bailout: How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street “This is simply the best book written on the government watchdog function. It smartly explains how a persistent, gutsy, and empirical watchdog can be a tugboat moving supertankers.” — Mark J. Green, former New York City Public Advocate and author of Who Runs Congress? “Who really watches out for abuses and waste in government? Often it is committed public servants who understand that oversight is part of doing the people’s business. Feldman and Eichenthal show how effective watchdogs can lead to better government performance and improved public confidence.” — Tom Griscom, former White House Communications Director in the Reagan administration