Reviews

The first edition of this book (LJ 3/1/02) appeared during the early months of the Bush administration's war on terror. Since then, the climate for investigative journalism has only become more repressive. This updated edition, which adds about 80 pages of new material, begins with a BBC interview in which Dan Rather admits that, to avoid appearing unpatriotic, he has refrained from questioning government policy. In the other new chapters, Charles Reina exposes the political pedigree of Fox News Channel, Ashleigh Banfield describes the obstacles to covering the Iraq war, and Charlotte Dennett reveals the "Great Game for Oil" underlying the war on terror. Borjesson, an award-winning investigative reporter, began collecting stories of government and corporate censorship after her own horrific experience while investigating the crash of TWA Flight 800. She hopes that journalists, policymakers, and the public will be sufficiently alarmed by these candid accounts to begin building "the nation's first independent mass media network." Highly recommended for all journalism collections but an optional purchase for public libraries that have the first edition.-Susan M. Colowick, Timberland Regional Lib., Tumwater, WA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Adult/High School-For this edition, three of the original essays were removed and four new ones added. Many others have been updated, making the book even more pertinent and timely, notably with Michael Levine's contribution on the nation's drug war and Jane Akre's account of her legal battle with Rupert Murdoch over the broadcast of her story on Monsanto's bovine hormone. Each of the new chapters documents how journalists have experienced increased censorship in the aftermath of September 11th: Dan Rather speaks frankly of the pressure to report "friendly" news or risk being labeled unpatriotic; Charles Reina, formerly of Fox News, reveals the existence of "The Memo," a daily Bush-era e-mail "addressing what stories [would] be covered" and how; and MSNBC reporter Ashleigh Banfield relates how her candid, extemporaneous personal observations on media coverage of the Middle East (given in a lecture at Kansas State University) drew the ire of corporate executives. Most disturbing is Charlotte Dennett's analysis of how the media "missed the context" between the Bush administration's war on terror and "the Great Game for oil." In her new introduction, Borjesson notes that the current state of American journalism makes it even more important that the work of investigative journalists and media critics be unreservedly and widely disseminated. As before, Buzzsaw provides a vital perspective on the First Amendment right to a free press and its endangered status today.-Dori DeSpain, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.