TAKING SIDES: CLASHING VIEWS IN MASS MEDIA presents current controversial issues in a debate-style format designed to stimulate student interest and develop critical thinking skills. Each issue is thoughtfully framed with an issue summary, an issue introduction, and a postscript. An instructor�s manual with testing material is available for each volume. USING TAKING SIDES IN THE CLASSROOM is also an excellent instructor resource with practical suggestions on incor… More >>
Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Mass Media and Society
This was a required book for a university-level class on mass media. To read the review, you’d think that the essays are presented in a pro-con format on any given issue, which in a sense, they are. However, many of the essays don’t even address the topic that they are supposed to represent — let alone hold a point of view on that topic. It almost seems as though the editors grabbed the nearest essay they could find that was even remotely relevant to the subject at hand.
As is to be expected in a book that is a collection of essays, the writing and quality are uneven. I expect different voices in a book of this format, and welcome them. What I do want is for the editors to do a much better job of selecting readings that are actually relevant to the subject being discussed.
For instance, there is a topic on whether or not blogging is journalism. The essay that is pro is obviously written to address this issue, so it is a valid essay and its author makes strong arguing points. The essay that the editors picked to support the negative view is pretty much a rant and rave about who-knows-what? It isn’t on any topic, at least as not as far as I or any of my classmates could see. We all asked each other, “What is this essay about?”
This book sorely needs to be updated if professors are going to continue to use it in the classroom. Many of the essays are ten or more years old. In the media, where new technology is being inventing almost daily, this material is woefully ancient!
Rating: 1 / 5