Talk: The Failure of the Mainstream American Press

Posted by on November 26, 2004

GREG PALAST, author of “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy”

DEMOCRACY OUT THE WINDOW?
The Failure of the Mainstream American Press

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thursday, December 2 at 7:30pm
Philadelphia Ethical Society
1906 Rittenhouse Square
$8 general; $5 current Media Tank members and limited income
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

On the heels of the 2004 Presidential election, GREG PALAST — who first broke the story of the systematic disenfranchisement of voters in Florida during the 2000 election — comes to Philadelphia as a part of Media Tank’s Speaker Series. While mainstream media outlets have written stories about claims of election fraud, voter intimidation and electronic voting errors during the 2004 election, these stories largely focus on the “blogsphere” where these claims have first appeared. Writing for the British press, Palast has spent the intervening weeks since the election investigating the claims themselves.

On an issue of tremendous consequence for American democracy, what accounts for the difference in reporting between the United States press corps and their international counterparts? Why do many stories that get buried or unreported domestically find a prominent place in news outlets abroad? Author of the New York Times bestseller, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy,” Palast will speak from his unique perspective as an American reporting for the British press.

More information: http://www.mediatank.org or 215-563-1100.