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Myth of ‘Free Media’ and Fake News in the Post-Truth Era
First Edition
- Kalinga Seneviratne - Former Head of Research, Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Singapore
December 2019 | 348 pages | SAGE India
Myth of ‘Free Media’ and Fake News in the Post-truth Era reveals the story of ‘fake news’ hysteria and myth of ‘free media’ in the post-truth world order, starting from the question of whether there has really been a ‘truth’ era. The book examines how the news media is battling for relevance in the age of Internet. It shows how the wave of media ‘liberalization’ has weakened the basic premise of Libertarian Media Function Theory, which states that the media is the ‘Fourth Estate’ that protects the citizens from abuse of power by the government. It analyses how excessive commercialization of the media and the commodification of news has changed journalism globally. The book recommends a new paradigm and explains how it can be used to transform news reporting from an adversarial model to a human-centric one.
Preface
Acknowledgements
Media Function Theories: Time for a Rethink
Media in Crisis: Commodification of News
Did We Ever Have a Truth Era?
Imbalances in News: Truth Is Subjective
Dawn of the Post-Truth Era?
Human Rights: The New Missionary Religion
Neo-liberalism Breeding Inequality: Who Is Telling the Truth?
Redefining Journalistic Ethics
Fake News Hysteria: Attempt to Stifle Alternative Views?
Fighting the Gloom with New Thinking
Appendix A: Obama’s Final Asian Tour ‘Unpivots’ US War Crimes in Asia
Appendix B: Rounding Up Coca-Colonization: Will the UN Human Rights Council Stand Up for the People?
References
Index
“If someone is interested in sifting through some ‘dead news’ about what went wrong with the global television media scene immediately before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, this book offers some uncomfortable facts to think about.”
