Shooting the Messenger
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Shooting the Messenger
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
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See moreIf the Al-Qaeda terrorists who attacked the United States in 2001 wanted to weaken the West, they achieved their mission by striking a blow at the heart of democracy.
Since 9/11, governments including those of the USA, the UK, France, and Australia have introduced tough, intimidating legislation to discourage the legitimate activities of a probing press, so greatly needed after the Iraq War proved that executive government could not be trusted.
Often hiding behind arguments about defending national security and fighting the war on terror, governments criminalised legitimate journalistic work, ramping up their attacks on journalistsβ sources, and the whistle-blowers who are so essential in keeping governments honest.
Through detailed research and analysis, Shooting the Messenger, which includes interviews with leading figures in the field, including Edward Snowden, explains how mass surveillance and anti-terror laws are of questionable value in defeating terrorism, but have had a βchilling effectβ on one of the foundations of democracy: revelatory journalism.
Series: The Criminalization of Political Dissent
View allBook Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Ironies abound in this disturbing analysis of how western governments are clamping down on media freedoms and using dragnet surveillance to amass data on every one of us. Andrew Fowler neatly summarises, "New laws are now being shaped, both in the US and elsewhere, to make illegal that which had been normal journalistic practice; to make legal the activities of intelligence agencies which had previously been outlawed." Perhaps the biggest irony is the role played by right-wing elements of the media who endorse these draconian invasions of privacy and restrictions on freedom of expression in the name of national security. Fowler convincingly argues that journalism that speaks truth to power and democracy itself could be imperilled if we allow our governments free rein to stifle signs of dissent.
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, June 2018
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781138296602
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 27 March 2018
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Routledge
Audience: Tertiary education
DIMENSIONS
Width: 156.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 453g
Pages: 244
About the Author
Andrew Fowler is an award-winning investigative journalist and a former reporter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporationβs (ABC) Foreign Correspondent and its premier investigative TV documentary programme, Four Corners. Andrew began his journalism career in the early 1970s, covering the IRA bombing campaign for the London Evening News. He first interviewed Julian Assange for Foreign Correspondent in early 2010 and went on to write the bestselling book, The Most Dangerous Man in the World (Melbourne University Press, 2011) which has been translated and published in countries as diverse as China, South Korea, the USA, Russia, Indonesia, Romania and Taiwan.
Also by Andrew Fowler
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