Publication date:
20 April 2018Length of book:
272 pagesPublisher
Pluto PressISBN-13: 9781786802750
From Donald Trump, to Brexit and the rise of nationalist populism across Europe, what role has the media played in shaping our current political moment?
Following the news coverage of a decade-long crisis that includes the 2008 financial crash and the Great Recession, the UK deficit, the eurozone crisis, austerity and rising inequality, we see that coverage is suffering from an acute amnesia about the policies that caused the crisis in the first place. Rather than remembering its roots in the dynamics of 'free market' capitalism, the media remains devoted to a narrative of swollen public sectors, out-of-control immigration and benefits cheats. How has history been so quickly rewritten, and what does this mean for attempts to solve the economic problems?
Going behind the coverage, to decode the workings of media power, Basu shows that without a rejection of neoliberal capitalism we'll be stuck in an infinite cycle of crisis.
Following the news coverage of a decade-long crisis that includes the 2008 financial crash and the Great Recession, the UK deficit, the eurozone crisis, austerity and rising inequality, we see that coverage is suffering from an acute amnesia about the policies that caused the crisis in the first place. Rather than remembering its roots in the dynamics of 'free market' capitalism, the media remains devoted to a narrative of swollen public sectors, out-of-control immigration and benefits cheats. How has history been so quickly rewritten, and what does this mean for attempts to solve the economic problems?
Going behind the coverage, to decode the workings of media power, Basu shows that without a rejection of neoliberal capitalism we'll be stuck in an infinite cycle of crisis.
'This is a fascinating account of elite and media attempts to repair the neo-liberal hegemony in the wake of the 2008 crash, and prolonged recession. Based on careful factual analysis and eloquently written, it will be of wide interest to academics and students in media studies, politics, and economics as well as activists'