How to Watch TV News Audiobook By Neil Postman, Steve Powers cover art

How to Watch TV News

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection of titles.
Yours as long as you’re a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for $8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

How to Watch TV News

By: Neil Postman, Steve Powers
Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
Try Standard free

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.87

Buy for $14.87

America is suffering from an information glut. Most Americans are no longer clear about what news is worth remembering or how any of it connects to anything else. Thus, Americans are rapidly becoming the least knowledgeable people in the industrial world.

In How to Watch TV News, author and academic Neil Postman and television journalist Steve Powers tell you how to become a discerning viewer. They make clear the difference between entertainment fodder and genuine news, pointing to the symbiotic relationship between TV news and advertising. They explain why TV news has become a "cash cow" and stress that anyone who relies exclusively on TV for his or her knowledge of the world is making a serious mistake.

©1992 Neil Postman and Steve Powers (P)1996 Blackstone Audio Inc. Media Studies Film & TV Social Sciences Entertainment & Performing Arts Entertainment Writing & Publishing Words, Language & Grammar

Critic reviews

"Jeff Riggenbach's reading is ideal: very clear, comfortably paced, and objective in tone. This reviewer urges this book on every adult in America." (AudioFile)
Relevant Content • Timeless Insights • Informative Analysis • Concise Presentation • Important Resource

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
in this book, Postman and Powers explain the tactics used by news anchors, reporters, producers, and network bosses to keep the public entertained. They explain the changes that have taken place since anchors began to replace reporters as those who dominate screentime. Their most alarming prediction is that we would begin falling into tribes based specifically on politics, and this was written in the early 1990s. Thankfully, they also offer quite a few helpful solutions. This is a book that I rate 5 stars all around but I am blind and can't figure out how. #Media #1990sAmerica #Creepy #Prophetic #whitty #TagsGiving #SweepStakes

A Prophetic warning

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It was interesting to listen to a book about the tv news problems of 1992. All those issues and worries of the early 90s have only been compounded in the age of social media. There are some good nuggets mixed in with dated info. Overall, I don’t feel like I wasted my time, but I would only recommend to people with a strong interest in the topic.

Good, but dated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
narrator is a little less than interesting but material is solid with exception of be a little dated. excellent glimpse at a turning point in media a prior to the invent of smart phones

solid book and excellent time capsule listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Despite its age, this book is still a good guide to navigating the problems inherent in TV news. The ideas herein also apply to other media, especially digital content

Fair warning for TV watchers

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I liked how it wasn't absurdly long like some books on theory or philosophy. The message is clear and is well supported.

still applicable today

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews