Table of Contents

Chapter 1. The News about Democracy: Information Crisis in American Politics

Chapter 2. News Stories: Four Information Biases that Matter

Chapter 3. Citizens and the News: Public Opinion and Information Processing

Chapter 4. How Politicians Make the News

Chapter 5. How Journalists Report the News

Chapter 6. Inside the Profession: Objectivity and the Political Authority Bias

Chapter 7. The Political Economy of News and the End of a Journalism Era

Chapter 8. All the News that Fits Democracy: Solutions for Citizens, Politicians, and Journalists

Reviews

“News: The Politics of Illusion is a smart, provocative introduction to media and American politics. Bennett argues that the American political information system – with news at its center - is broken, with serious consequences for democracy. Bennett lays out his case, and invites readers to make up their own minds.” – Paul Freedman, The University of Virginia  “This book is written smoothly in flowing prose, free from the jargon that obscures to much social science writing. Bennett is critical, but never carping, praising the news system for what he considers its many strengths and condemning it for what he perceives as its shortcomings.” - from Doris Graber’s Foreword