Getting It Wrong (University of California Press) addresses and debunks ten prominent media-driven myths, which are well-known stories about and/or by the news media that are widely believed and often retold but which, on close inspection, prove to be apocryphal or wildly exaggerated. Media-driven myths are dubious tales masquerading as factual that often promote misleading interpretations of media power and influence. Media myths debunked in Getting It Wrong the notion that the news media brought down Richard Nixon's corrupt presidency, ended Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witchhunt, censored itself in the run-up to the Bay of Pigs invasion, and altered the course of the Vietnam War.
W. Joseph Campbell, Ph.D. is a professor in the School of Communication at American University . His book Getting It Wrong was launched at the Newseum in mid-June and was among the 90 titles selected for the National Press Club's Fair and Authors' Night in November. He regularly discusses issues related to the book on his blog, Media Myth Alert.
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