Media Madness

Donald Trump, the Press, and the War over the Truth

By: Howard Kurtz

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

According to the media, Donald Trump could never become president. Now many are on a mission to prove he shouldn't be president. The Trump administration and the press are at war - and as in any war, the first casualty has been truth. Bestselling author Howard Kurtz, host of Fox News's Media Buzz and former Washington Post columnist, offers a stunning exposé of how supposedly objective journalists, alarmed by Trump's success, have moved into the opposing camp. Kurtz's exclusive, in-depth, behind-the-scenes interviews with reporters, anchors, and insiders within the Trump White House reveal the unprecedented hostility between the media and the president they cover.

In Media Madness, you'll learn:

• Why White House strategist Steve Bannon told Trump he is in danger of being impeached
  
• How the love-hate relationship between the president and Morning Joe hosts - Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski - turned entirely to hate
  
• How Kellyanne Conway felt betrayed by journalists who befriended her - and how she fought back
  
• How elite, mainstream news reporters - named and quoted - openly express their blatant contempt for Trump
  
• How Bannon tried to block short-lived Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci - and why Trump soured on him
  
• How Ivanka and Jared Kushner aren't the liberals the pundits want them to be - and why Trump tried to discourage them from joining the White House
  
• Why Trump believes some journalists harbor hatred for him - and how some liberals despise his voters
  
• How Trump is a far more pragmatic politician than the press often acknowledges (and how the press dismisses his flip-flops when he flops their way)
  
• What Trump got wrong about Charlottesville - and how Steve Bannon predicted the debacle
  
• How the media consistently overreached on the Russian "collusion" scandal
  
• Why Trump actually likes journalists, secretly meets with them, and allows the press unprecedented access
  
• Why Reince Priebus couldn't do his job - and the real reason he left the White House
  
• How Sean Spicer privately berated journalists for bad reporting - and why he and Kellyanne Conway were relentlessly attacked by the media

Never before has there been such an eye-opening, shocking look at what the White House and the media think about each other. It's not pretty. But it also makes for the most important political book of the year.

©2018 Howard Kurtz (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

Well Balanced

This books was surprisingly well Balanced & good book
. Journalism has changed the media is currpted.

Expected nothing less than excellent from Howie

And excellent it was! Is there anyone else that can just report the news without bias like Howie??

good not great

felt like reading a 200 page article about last 12 months. got some color but not much meat of info.

A great viewpoint from a good vantage point.

An unbiased view of the last year in politics. Fill with facts from both sides.

The shameful state of "Journalism"

Sadly, this book is nonfiction. The book contains important, enlightening information albeit a bit depressing. The narrator is excellent.
I was pleased the author does all he can to keep his view that of observer of ALL aspects. Trump comes off as, well, Trump. His ill-advised comments aren't glossed. By the same standard the media comes off as unfair, vicious, and tribal.
For those who still put any trust in "our" mainstream media, this book presents much to consider. For those who don't, read/listen and be reaffirmed.

Factual and dry rehash of the Trump-media fight

Factual and dry are what is needed. The title of of Howard Kurtz's Media Madness is misleading in that he holds both Trump and the media for the current poor state of their relations. But he does attempt to hold the media more accountable because he believes that his profession is damaging itself unnecessarily by joining a fight to reverse the results of a presidential election. I'm reminded to a quote from a blogger who said that most of the mainstream media believe their job is to cover positive stories about President Trump with a pillow until they stops breathing. Meanwhile, they readily report anti-Trump stories that are thinly sourced from a single biased confidential source as if they are actually facts.

The rights afforded the free press by the First Amendment of the US Constitution are absolute; they are free to say/print (or refuse to say/print) anything they choose without consideration of facts. At the same time all Americans, including the US president, are free to respond as they see fit. The issue here is credibility. Kurtz argues that most of the mainstream media are damaging their credibility with their constant demonetization of Trump. The most recent polls indicate that only 32% of Americans believe that the mainstream media have any credibility at all. Meanwhile the president's approval rating is 10% higher at 42%. The mainstream media, more properly called Democrats with bylines, are not intelligent enough to understand they are losing the battle; and when it is over they will likely never recover. What they are doing will get them more Trump, not less.

How do you speed up this reader?

If I can't speed up this reader I might pull my hair out! Seems interesting enough with behind the scenes WH stories.

Balanced Critique of Trump and the Media

I had just read Fire and Fury and was looking for more information on Trump and the media. This book was recommended by Audible for me and I found it to be very balanced and fair. I'm not a fan of Trump but I found this book useful to understand the current political and media circus.

the truth being told

nice to have someone tell us the truth about the fake news that the press puts out every week. I have lost all confident in the press and look for Fox news for my News.

Great insight

This is a great look into the personality of President Trump's WH, his uncontrollable stream of consciousness, and the medias obsession with opposing him at every opportunity.