About the Book:
An eviscerating look at the state of journalism in the age of the 24 hour news cycle by a Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic and a veteran news correspondent.
No Time To Think focuses on the insidious and increasing portion of the news media that, due to the dangerously extreme speed at which it is produced, is only half thought out, half true, and lazily repeated from anonymous sources interested in selling opinion and wild speculation as news. These news item can easily gain exposure today, assuming a life of their own while making a mockery of journalism and creating casualties of cool deliberation and thoughtful discourse. Much of it is picked up gratuitously and given resonance online or through CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and other networks, which must, in this age of the 24-hour news cycle, "feed the beast."
In dissecting this frantic news blur, No Time To Think breaks down a number of speed-driven blunders from the insider perspective of Charles Feldman, who spent 20 years as a CNN correspondent, as well as the outsider perspective of Howard Rosenberg, who covered the coverage for 25 years as TV critic for The Los Angeles Times.
No Time To Think demonstrates how today's media blitz scrambles the public's perspective in ways that potentially shape how we think, act and react as a global society. The result effects not only the media and the public, but also the government leaders we trust to make carefully considered decisions on our behalf. Featuring interviews ranging from former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw to internet doyenne Arianna Huffington to PBS stalwart Jim Lehrer to CNN chief Jonathan Klein to a host of former presidential press secretaries and other keen-eyed media watchers, this incisive work measures lasting fallout from the 24-hour news cycle beginning in 1980 with the arrival of CNN, right up to the present.
What people say:
"Veteran journalists Rosenberg and Feldman examine the shrinking news cycle-the period of time between when a news event occurs and its reportage — through a series of incisive essays. They decry the reckless speed at which stories appear in print, electronic, and broadcast media, which sacrifices journalistic integrity and fact-checking processes ... this book pulls no punches in its assessment of the profession." — Library Journal
"Highway safety officials have warned for years that speed kills. Rosenberg and Feldman illustrate over and over again that the admonition is just as applicable to traffic on the information superhighway…Reading this book will make you more aware of what you are seeing on TV and on the Internet. It will make it easier to recognize when you are being served hot air instead of hard information, and it will make you more skeptical of the entire process. And that's a good place to start." — The Hollywood Reporter
"In No Time To Think, Howard Rosenberg and Charles Feldman take a refreshing pause to contemplate today's superheated media environment and the implications of ‘Shoot first, think later' news. The book deftly captures this relatively new dynamic and its depressing implications for journalism and democracy — and should be required reading for anyone who cares about either. Breezily written, it's a sobering reminder of the often-overlooked price tag associated with headlong technological advancement." — Variety
"In this, the authors really do have a point ... In short, Rosenberg and Feldman are right to say that there's a lot wrong with rolling news." — Independent on Sunday (London)
"This books is mainly about American news reporting, but enough of it is recognizable to Britain and all of it is an awful warning, delivered with anecdotal richness and real passion." — The Times (London)
About the Author:
Howard Rosenberg earned a Pulitzer Prize and numerous other honours during his 25 years as TV critic for the Los Angeles Times. He teaches critical writing and news ethics at the University of Southern California.
Charles S. Feldman is a veteran investigative television and print journalist. His career spans more than 20 years and straddled the crucial juncture of "old-fashioned" reporting and the introduction of the 24 hour news cycle, which gives him an unique perspective to the advantages and pitfalls that this change has brought about.