Inventing Reality

The Politics of News Media

by Michael Parenti

Paperback, 274 pages

English language

Published Jan. 21, 1993 by St. Martin's Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-312-02013-2

This study looks at the role of the print and electronic media in defining "respectable" political discourse in the United States. From a critical perpective, Parenti looks at the economics and politics of "presenting" the news and argues that the media systematically distort the news. This manufactured reality deprives the public of necessary information for effective participation in government. This edition has been updated throughout, and there is coverage of the media's treatment of the US invasion of Panama, the war against Iraq and the collapse of communism. Other titles by Michael Parenti include "Democracy for the Few", "Power and the Powerless", "The Sword and the Dollar: Imperialism, Revolution and the Arms Race" and "Make-Believe Media: The Politics of Entertainment".

4 editions

MBybee reviewed Inventing Reality by Michael Parenti

A must-read

5 stars

I couldn't put this book down. It really should be in our school curriculum, though it isn't for painfully obvious reasons.

He argues points that many have tried with perhaps more zeal and less success to argue.

I won't spoil it for you, but if you wish to think critically about the relationships between money, capitalism, culture, and what is 'allowed' vs 'disallowed' vs 'not even mentioned, and therefore simply forgotten or unknown', you need this book.

I couldn't put this book down. It really should be in our school curriculum, though it isn't for painfully obvious reasons.

He argues points that many have tried with perhaps more zeal and less success to argue.

Preston Maness reviewed Inventing Reality by Michael Parenti

Relevant Then, Relevant Now

5 stars

The same patterns that Parenti identified in the 80s are still dominating mass media today. If you want to understand the mass media's role in capitalist society, then this is an excellent place to start.