Robert W. McChesney
Encyclopedia
Robert Waterman McChesney is an American professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. He is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication. His work concentrates on the history and political economy of communication, emphasizing the role media play in democratic and capitalist societies. He is the co-founder of Free Press
, a national media reform organization. McChesney also hosts the “Media Matters” weekly radio program every Sunday afternoon on WILL-AM
radio; it is the top-rated program in its time slot in the Champaign-Urbana
area.
McChesney has written or edited seventeen books. He has also written more than 150 journal articles and book chapters and another 200 newspaper pieces, magazine articles and book reviews. His work has been translated into twenty-one languages. Since launching his academic career in the late 1980s, McChesney has made some 500 conference presentations and visiting guest lectures as well as more than 600 radio and television appearances. He has been the subject of more than 70 published profiles and interviews. In 2001 Adbusters
Magazine named him one of the “Nine Pioneers of Mental Environmentalism.” Utne Reader
in 2008 listed him as one of their "50 visionaries who are changing the world".
. He attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington
, along with fellow progressive journalist John Bellamy Foster
. After college, he worked as a sports stringer
for United Press International (UPI)
, published a weekly newspaper, and in 1979 was the founding publisher of The Rocket
, a Seattle
-based rock magazine which chronicled the birth of the Seattle rock scene of the late 1980s and 1990s. The creation of The Rocket is credited as the beginning of the Seattle rock scene by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
.
and a Ph.D.
in communications at the University of Washington
in 1986 and 1989, respectively. From 1988 to 1998 he was on the Journalism and Mass Communications faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. He is currently a research professor in the Department of Communication and the Graduate School of Information
and Library
Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
.
McChesney's most recent books have included, Communication Revolution: Critical Junctures and the Future of Media, published by New Press in October 2007, The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas (Monthly Review Press), which appeared in Spring 2008, and most recently, The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again, published with John Nichols
in January 2010 (Nation Books). His other recent books include: with John Nichols, Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy and The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the 21st Century, published in 2004.
McChesney co-edits, with John Nerone, the History of Communication Series for the University of Illinois Press, serves on the editorial boards of several journals, and is a research advisor to numerous academic and civic organizations. While teaching at Wisconsin, he was selected as one of the top 100 classroom teachers on the Madison campus. From 2000 to 2004 he served as co-editor of Monthly Review
– the independent Marxist magazine founded by Paul Sweezy and Leo Huberman in 1949.
McChesney is an editor for several scholarly communication journals and co-edits the University of Illinois' History of communication book series. He has served on the editorial board of The Progressive
and the board of directors for In These Times
, and served briefly on the Board of Directors of Free Speech Radio News
, Robert Fisk
, Danny Schechter
, Seymour Hersh
, Norman Solomon
, Amy Goodman
, Howard Zinn
, and Gore Vidal
discuss the relationship between US media and politics and answer questions from callers. Programs and archives can be heard online at http://will.illinois.edu/mediamatters/.
The liberal media watchdog group Media Matters, formed in 2004, changed their name to Media Matters for America
to avoid confusion between the two entities.
, a national, non-partisan organization dedicated to media reform and democratization. He is a former editor of the Marxist Monthly Review
, and now a director of the foundation that operates the magazine. McChesney sits on the board of directors of the Institute for Public Accuracy
, and is a member of the Liberty Tree
Board of Advisers.
of the Wall Street Journal that he is a socialist
and "hesitant to say I'm not a Marxist."
media" is a complete misnomer. Instead, the media are, according to McChensney, a government sanctioned oligopoly
, owned by a few highly profitable corporate entities. These concerns jealously guard their privilege through legislative influence and through use of their control of news coverage, by which means they distort public understanding of media issues. McChesney pinpoints the beginning of governmental oversight with the regulatory role imposed on the U.S. government at the advent of broadcast, where government was required to enforce the broadcasting rights of a limited number of participants. McChesney sees the Communications Act of 1934
as essentially allowing monopolistic rights to broadcasters who had shown the greatest propensity for profit. Subsequent to this act were the provisions of the Fairness Doctrine
, which had provisions for public interest broadcasting due to the scarcity of the broadcasting resource. These restrictions were later overturned in the 1980s under the banner of "deregulation."
McChesney criticized the lack of investigative reporting immediately following the attacks on 9/11 and characterized American media coverage as "propaganda
." He advocated delving deeper into the issues behind the attacks, rather than merely repeated coverage of benefits, remembrances, and footage of the aftermath.
. He is married to media scholar Inger Stole and has two children.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. He is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication. His work concentrates on the history and political economy of communication, emphasizing the role media play in democratic and capitalist societies. He is the co-founder of Free Press
Free Press (organization)
Free Press is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, national organization working to reform the media in the United States.It was founded in 2002 by media scholar Robert W. McChesney, The Nation contributor John Nichols, and Josh Silver, current CEO of the Democracy Fund, a foundation challenging the influence...
, a national media reform organization. McChesney also hosts the “Media Matters” weekly radio program every Sunday afternoon on WILL-AM
WILL
WILL is the callsign of the three public broadcasting stations owned by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and directly operated by its Division of Broadcasting...
radio; it is the top-rated program in its time slot in the Champaign-Urbana
Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area
The Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area, also known as Champaign-Urbana, is a metropolitan area in east-central Illinois. It is the 191st largest metropolitan area in the U.S. It is composed of three counties, Champaign, Ford, and Piatt...
area.
McChesney has written or edited seventeen books. He has also written more than 150 journal articles and book chapters and another 200 newspaper pieces, magazine articles and book reviews. His work has been translated into twenty-one languages. Since launching his academic career in the late 1980s, McChesney has made some 500 conference presentations and visiting guest lectures as well as more than 600 radio and television appearances. He has been the subject of more than 70 published profiles and interviews. In 2001 Adbusters
AdBusters
The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based not-for-profit, anti-consumerist, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia...
Magazine named him one of the “Nine Pioneers of Mental Environmentalism.” Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
in 2008 listed him as one of their "50 visionaries who are changing the world".
Background and education
McChesney was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. He attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
, along with fellow progressive journalist John Bellamy Foster
John Bellamy Foster
John Bellamy Foster is a professor of sociology at the University of Oregon and also editor of Monthly Review, an independent socialist magazine. His writings have focused on political economy, environmental sociology, and Marxist theory...
. After college, he worked as a sports stringer
Stringer (journalism)
In journalism, a stringer is a type of freelance journalist or photographer who contributes reports or photos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work....
for United Press International (UPI)
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
, published a weekly newspaper, and in 1979 was the founding publisher of The Rocket
The Rocket (newspaper)
The Rocket was a free biweekly newspaper serving the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, published from 1979–2000. The newspaper's chief purpose was to document local music. This focus distinguished it from other area weeklies such as the Seattle Weekly and the Willamette Week, which...
, a Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
-based rock magazine which chronicled the birth of the Seattle rock scene of the late 1980s and 1990s. The creation of The Rocket is credited as the beginning of the Seattle rock scene by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
.
Academic career
McChesney received a M.A.Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in communications at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in 1986 and 1989, respectively. From 1988 to 1998 he was on the Journalism and Mass Communications faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. He is currently a research professor in the Department of Communication and the Graduate School of Information
Information science
-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
and Library
Library science
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...
Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
.
McChesney's most recent books have included, Communication Revolution: Critical Junctures and the Future of Media, published by New Press in October 2007, The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas (Monthly Review Press), which appeared in Spring 2008, and most recently, The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again, published with John Nichols
John Nichols (journalist)
John Nichols is an American journalist and author. He is a political correspondent for The Nation and associate editor of The Capital Times. Books authored or co-authored by Nichols include: The Genius of Impeachment and The Death and Life of American Journalism.- Biography :Nichols holds a...
in January 2010 (Nation Books). His other recent books include: with John Nichols, Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy and The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the 21st Century, published in 2004.
McChesney co-edits, with John Nerone, the History of Communication Series for the University of Illinois Press, serves on the editorial boards of several journals, and is a research advisor to numerous academic and civic organizations. While teaching at Wisconsin, he was selected as one of the top 100 classroom teachers on the Madison campus. From 2000 to 2004 he served as co-editor of Monthly Review
Monthly Review
Monthly Review is an independent Marxist journal published 11 times per year in New York City.-History:The publication was founded by Harvard University economics instructor Paul Sweezy, who became the first editor...
– the independent Marxist magazine founded by Paul Sweezy and Leo Huberman in 1949.
McChesney is an editor for several scholarly communication journals and co-edits the University of Illinois' History of communication book series. He has served on the editorial board of The Progressive
The Progressive
The Progressive is an American monthly magazine of politics, culture and progressivism with a pronounced liberal perspective on some issues. Known for its pacifism, it has strongly opposed military interventions, such as the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The magazine also devotes much coverage...
and the board of directors for In These Times
In These Times
In These Times is a politically progressive monthly magazine of news and opinion published by the Institute for Public Affairs in Chicago...
, and served briefly on the Board of Directors of Free Speech Radio News
Free Speech Radio News
Free Speech Radio News is an independently produced half hour daily national and international radio news program focusing on peace and social justice issues in the US and around the world. FSRN is collectively run by its workers and reporters...
Media Matters radio program
Since 2002, Bob McChesney has hosted Media Matters, a call-in radio show broadcast weekly on WILL-AM. Guests such as Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk is an English writer and journalist from Maidstone, Kent. As Middle East correspondent of The Independent, he has primarily been based in Beirut for more than 30 years. He has published a number of books and has reported on the United States's war in Afghanistan and the same country's...
, Danny Schechter
Danny Schechter
Danny Schechteris a television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic who writes and lectures frequently about the media in the United States and worldwide. He specializes in investigative journalism and producing programming about the interfaces among human rights, journalism,...
, Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...
, Norman Solomon
Norman Solomon
Norman Solomon is an American journalist, media critic, antiwar activist, and current candidate for the United States House of Representatives. Solomon is a longtime associate of the media watch group Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting...
, Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
, Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
, and Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
discuss the relationship between US media and politics and answer questions from callers. Programs and archives can be heard online at http://will.illinois.edu/mediamatters/.
The liberal media watchdog group Media Matters, formed in 2004, changed their name to Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America is a politically progressive media watchdog group which says it is "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." Set up as a 501 non-profit organization, MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and...
to avoid confusion between the two entities.
Media reform and social activism
One of McChesney's primary interests is media reform. He is the founder and president of Free PressFree Press (organization)
Free Press is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, national organization working to reform the media in the United States.It was founded in 2002 by media scholar Robert W. McChesney, The Nation contributor John Nichols, and Josh Silver, current CEO of the Democracy Fund, a foundation challenging the influence...
, a national, non-partisan organization dedicated to media reform and democratization. He is a former editor of the Marxist Monthly Review
Monthly Review
Monthly Review is an independent Marxist journal published 11 times per year in New York City.-History:The publication was founded by Harvard University economics instructor Paul Sweezy, who became the first editor...
, and now a director of the foundation that operates the magazine. McChesney sits on the board of directors of the Institute for Public Accuracy
Institute for Public Accuracy
The Institute for Public Accuracy is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that encourages mainstream news media to interview alternative sources. It was founded in 1997 by Norman Solomon, who serves as executive director; its communications director is Sam Husseini....
, and is a member of the Liberty Tree
Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution
Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution is an American non-governmental organization "rooted in the belief that the American Revolution is a living tradition whose greatest promise is democracy." Their purpose is to foster a broad-based democracy movement in the United States...
Board of Advisers.
Political views
McChesney told John FundJohn Fund
John H. Fund is an American political journalist and conservative columnist. Currently a senior editor of The American Spectator,...
of the Wall Street Journal that he is a socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and "hesitant to say I'm not a Marxist."
American media
One of the main themes of McChesney's work is that "deregulatedDeregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
media" is a complete misnomer. Instead, the media are, according to McChensney, a government sanctioned oligopoly
Oligopoly
An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers . The word is derived, by analogy with "monopoly", from the Greek ὀλίγοι "few" + πόλειν "to sell". Because there are few sellers, each oligopolist is likely to be aware of the actions of the others...
, owned by a few highly profitable corporate entities. These concerns jealously guard their privilege through legislative influence and through use of their control of news coverage, by which means they distort public understanding of media issues. McChesney pinpoints the beginning of governmental oversight with the regulatory role imposed on the U.S. government at the advent of broadcast, where government was required to enforce the broadcasting rights of a limited number of participants. McChesney sees the Communications Act of 1934
Communications Act of 1934
The Communications Act of 1934 is a United States federal law, enacted as Public Law Number 416, Act of June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, by the 73rd Congress, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, codified as Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code, et seq. The Act replaced the...
as essentially allowing monopolistic rights to broadcasters who had shown the greatest propensity for profit. Subsequent to this act were the provisions of the Fairness Doctrine
Fairness Doctrine
The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission , introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses to both present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was, in the Commission's view, honest, equitable...
, which had provisions for public interest broadcasting due to the scarcity of the broadcasting resource. These restrictions were later overturned in the 1980s under the banner of "deregulation."
Policy debates focus on marginal and tangential issues because core structures and policies are off-limits to criticism. In this environment, policy debates tend to gravitate to the elite level and public participation virtually disappears. After all, for most people, minor media policy issues are far down the list of important topics. Sweeping media reform is unthinkable - and politically impossible. The public's elimination from the process is encouraged by the corruption of the U.S. political system, in which politicians tend to be comfortable with the status quo and not inclined to upset powerful commercial media owners and potential campaign contributors. The dominant media firms enjoy the power to control news coverage of debates over media policies; this is a power they have used shamelessly to trivialize, marginalize, and distort opposition to the status quo.
McChesney criticized the lack of investigative reporting immediately following the attacks on 9/11 and characterized American media coverage as "propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
." He advocated delving deeper into the issues behind the attacks, rather than merely repeated coverage of benefits, remembrances, and footage of the aftermath.
Personal life
McChesney lives in Champaign-UrbanaChampaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area
The Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area, also known as Champaign-Urbana, is a metropolitan area in east-central Illinois. It is the 191st largest metropolitan area in the U.S. It is composed of three counties, Champaign, Ford, and Piatt...
. He is married to media scholar Inger Stole and has two children.
Awards
- Named a “visionary” as one of Utne ReaderUtne ReaderUtne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
magazine’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing the World” 2008 - Goldsmith Book PrizeGoldsmith Book PrizeThe Goldsmith Book Prize is a literary award for books published in the United States.-Description:The award is meant to recognize works that "[improve] government through an examination of the intersection between press, politics, and public policy." The prize is awarded to the book published in...
, 1999. - Frank Luther MottFrank Luther MottFrank Luther Mott was an American historian and journalist of Quaker descent.Mott was born in Rose Hill, Iowa...
-Kappa Tau AlphaKappa Tau AlphaKappa Tau Alpha is an American college honor society which recognizes academic excellence and promotes scholarship in journalism and mass communication...
Research Award, 1999. Both for Rich Media, Poor Democracy.
As author
- 2010. Robert W. McChesney and John NicholsJohn Nichols (journalist)John Nichols is an American journalist and author. He is a political correspondent for The Nation and associate editor of The Capital Times. Books authored or co-authored by Nichols include: The Genius of Impeachment and The Death and Life of American Journalism.- Biography :Nichols holds a...
. The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again. Nation Books. - 2008. The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas. New York: Monthly Review Press.
- 2007. Communication Revolution: Critical Junctures and the Future of Media. New York: The New Press.
- 2005. Media, Class Struggle and Democracy. Athens, Greece: Monthly Review Press. (A collection of essays from Monthly Review and a new introduction; Translated and published in Greek.)
- 2004. The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the 21st Century. New York: Monthly Review Press.
- 2002. Robert W. McChesney & John Nichols, Our Media, Not Theirs: The Democratic Struggle Against Corporate Media. Introductions by Noam ChomskyNoam ChomskyAvram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, Ralph NaderRalph NaderRalph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
, and Barbara EhrenreichBarbara Ehrenreich-Early life:Ehrenreich was born Barbara Alexander to Isabelle Oxley and Ben Howes Alexander in Butte, Montana, which she describes as then being "a bustling, brawling, blue collar mining town."...
. New York: Seven Stories Press. - 2000. Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious Times. Paperback edition, with a new preface by the author. New York: The New Press.
- 2000. John Nichols & Robert W. McChesney, It's the Media, Stupid!, with forewords by Paul WellstonePaul WellstonePaul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
, Barbara EhrenreichBarbara Ehrenreich-Early life:Ehrenreich was born Barbara Alexander to Isabelle Oxley and Ben Howes Alexander in Butte, Montana, which she describes as then being "a bustling, brawling, blue collar mining town."...
, and Ralph NaderRalph NaderRalph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
. New York: Seven Stories Press. - 1999. Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious Times. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
- 1997. Edward S. Herman & Robert W. McChesney, The Global Media: The New Missionaries of Corporate Capitalism. London and Washington: Cassell.
- 1997. Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy. Open Media Series, No. 1. New York: Seven Stories Press.
- 1993. Telecommunications, Mass Media, and Democracy: The Battle for the Control of U.S. Broadcasting, 1928-1935. New York: Oxford University Press.
As editor
- 2005. Robert W. McChesney, Russell Newman and Ben ScottBen Scott (Policy Expert)Ben Scott is Policy Advisor for Innovation at the US Department of State, where he works at the intersection of technology and foreign policy. In a small team of advisors to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he works to help steward the 21'st Century Statecraft agenda with a focus on...
, editors. The Future of Media. New York: Seven Stories Press. - 2004. John Bellamy Foster & Robert W. McChesney, editors. Pox Americana: Exposing the American Empire. New York: Monthly Review Press.
- 2004. Robert W. McChesney & Ben ScottBen Scott (Policy Expert)Ben Scott is Policy Advisor for Innovation at the US Department of State, where he works at the intersection of technology and foreign policy. In a small team of advisors to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he works to help steward the 21'st Century Statecraft agenda with a focus on...
, editors. Our Unfree Press: 100 Years of Radical Media Criticism. New York: The New Press. - 1998. Robert W. McChesney, Ellen Meiksins WoodEllen Meiksins Wood-Biography:Wood was born Ellen Meiksins one year after her parents, Latvian Jews active in the Bund, arrived in New York from Europe as political refugees. She was raised in the United States and Europe.Wood received a B.A...
& John Bellamy FosterJohn Bellamy FosterJohn Bellamy Foster is a professor of sociology at the University of Oregon and also editor of Monthly Review, an independent socialist magazine. His writings have focused on political economy, environmental sociology, and Marxist theory...
, editors. Capitalism and the Information Age: The Political Economy of the Global Communication Revolution. New York: Monthly Review Press. - 1993. William Solomon & Robert W. McChesney, eds., Ruthless Criticism: New Perspectives in U.S. Communication History. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Articles
- 2010: John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney. "How to Save Journalism", The NationThe NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
. - 2009: John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney. "The Death and Life of Great American Newspapers", The NationThe NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
. - 1998: "Making Media Democratic", Boston ReviewBoston ReviewBoston Review is a bimonthly American political and literary magazine. The magazine covers, specifically, political debates, literature, and poetry...
. This article was one inspiration for the IndymediaIndependent Media CenterThe Independent Media Center is a global participatory network of journalists that report on political and social issues. It originated during the Seattle anti-WTO protests worldwide in 1999 and remains closely associated with the global justice movement, which criticizes neo-liberalism and its...
movement.
Other media appearances
- Orwell Rolls in His GraveOrwell Rolls in His GraveOrwell Rolls in His Grave is a 2003 documentary film written and directed by Robert Kane Pappas. Covered topics include the Telecommunications Act of 1996, concentration of media ownership, political corruption, Federal Communications Commission , the controversy over the US presidential election...
, 2004 documentary film. - In 2003, Bill MoyersBill MoyersBill Moyers is an American journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public...
interviewed McChesney and co-author John NicholsJohn Nichols (journalist)John Nichols is an American journalist and author. He is a political correspondent for The Nation and associate editor of The Capital Times. Books authored or co-authored by Nichols include: The Genius of Impeachment and The Death and Life of American Journalism.- Biography :Nichols holds a...
on the television program NOW.
External links
- McChesney's professional website
- Media Matters
- Free Press
- Faculty profile at Institute of Communications Research
- VIDEO: Robert W. McChesney - The Life of Death Struggle for Journalism and Self-Government, lecture delivered at the University of Portland, Portland, Oregon, February 26, 2009.
- Micha Odenheimer, Your Free Internet is in Danger, Interview with Professor Robert W. McChesney, Eretz Acheret Magazine