Blur

In an age when the line between citizen and journalist is becoming increasingly unclear, Blur is a crucial guide for those who want to know what's true.

Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overload
Co-authored with Bill Kovach

Amid the hand-wringing over the death of “true journalism” in the Internet Age-the din of bloggers, the echo chamber of Twitter, the predominance of Wikipedia-veteran journalists and media critics Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel have written a pragmatic guide to navigating the twenty-first century media terrain.

“One of the most important books of the year”

— Bob Schieffer, CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent

Yes, old authorities are being dismantled, new ones created, and the very nature of knowledge has changed. But seeking the truth remains the purpose of journalism. How do we discern what is reliable? Blur provides a road map, or more specifically, reveals the craft that has been used in newsrooms by the very best journalists for getting at the truth.

Blur takes the secrets that great journalists employ to decide what makes good journalism and distills them into six essential questions consumers should ask of any content they encounter. 

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Reviews

“An important book”

— The Charlotte Observer

 

“Intelligent, well written”

— Publishers Weekly

 

“Valuable and insightful…”

— Booklist Starred Review

 

“One of the most insightful books of this nascent millennium”

— Buffalo News

 

“Insightful… Offers step-by-step analysis of the processes by which the best journalists practice their craft and can have their work evaluated by consumers slogging their way through the mire of available information.”

― Kirkus

 

“Impassioned and practical…It argues persuasively for the virtues of traditional journalism without in any way resisting the sweeping changes the Internet has brought to the profession. It’s hard to imagine a more urgently necessary task, for journalism and for democratic societies, than the one Kovach and Rosenstiel have taken on.”

― Nicholas Lemann, Dean, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

 

“Two trailblazing newspapermen make a powerful case that with information reaching us at warp speed, Americans can ― and must ― learn the tough-minded skepticism that drove the country’s great journalists…riveting…”

― Dean Baquet, Washington Bureau Chief, New York Times

 

“If I had $1 million I would buy a copy of this book for every high school senior in America…[It] might be the most important book they will read in their lives–the one volume that will help them evaluate everything else they read until the day they die.”

― David M. Shribman, executive editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

“This is one of the most important books of the year…a sobering but even handed analysis that should be valuable to all of us in journalism and the citizens we serve.”

―Bob Schieffer, CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent