No Time To Think

This book offers an eviscerating look at the state of journalism in the age of the 24-hour news cycle by a Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic and a veteran news correspondent. "No Time To Think" focuses on the insidious and increasing portion of the news media that, due to the dangerously extreme speed at which it is produced, is only half thought out, half true, and lazily repeated from anonymous sources interested in selling opinion and wild speculation as news. These news item can easily gain exposure today, assuming a life of their own while making a mockery of journalism and creating casualties of cool deliberation and thoughtful discourse. Much of it is picked up gratuitously and given resonance online or through CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and other networks, which must, in this age of the 24-hour news cycle, 'feed the beast.' In dissecting this frantic news blur, "No Time to Think" breaks down a number of speed-driven blunders from the insider perspective of Charles Feldman, who spent 20 years as a CNN correspondent, as well as the outsider perspective of Howard Rosenberg, who covered the coverage for 25 years as TV critic for "The Los Angeles Times"."No Time to Think" demonstrates how today's media blitz scrambles the public's perspective in ways that potentially shape how we think, act and react as a global society. The end result effects not only the media and the public, but also the government leaders we trust to make carefully considered decisions on our behalf. Featuring interviews ranging from former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw to internet doyenne Arianna Huffington to PBS stalwart Jim Lehrer to CNN chief Jonathan Klein to a host of former presidential press secretaries and other keen-eyed media watchers, this incisive work measures lasting fallout from the 24-hour news cycle beginning in 1980 with the arrival of CNN, right up to the present.

"Compelling and insightful...any reader who wants to understand how news outlets such as CNN are run might appreciate a behind-the-scenes glimpse from a longtime insider." -Dinesh Ramdem, Carroll County Times--Sanford Lakoff, "In No Time to Think, Howard Rosenberg and Charles Feldman take a refreshing pause to contemplate today's superheated media environment and the implications of 'Shoot first, think later' news. The book deftly captures this relatively new dynamic and its depressing implications for journalism and democracy and should be required reading for anyone who cares about either. Breezily written, it's a sobering reminder of the often-overlooked price tag associated with headlong technological advancement." - Brian Lowry, media columnist/chief TV critic, Variety" --Sanford Lakoff, "Left, right? Crushed between? You need this book. Read it." - Ray Bradbury--Sanford Lakoff, "Rosenberg and Feldman deliver a caustic take on today's speed-driven news media, along with a warning to news consumers: Get smarter about the information you rely on, since there's no hope of slowing it down." - Deborah Potter, former CBS News correspondent; Executive Director, NewsLab--Sanford Lakoff, "The faster we feed the mass media beast, the faster it devours us. Step back, read Rosenberg and Feldman, then step even further back and start thinking how to save yourselves and democracy from the tsunami of blarney, blather, and bathos that passes as news today." - Bill Moyers--Sanford Lakoff

Howard Rosenberg earned a Pulitzer Prize and numerous other honors during his 25 years as TV critic for the Los Angeles Times. His anthology, "Not So Prime Time: Chasing the Trivial on American Television," was published in 2004, winning wide praise and a starred review from Publishers Weekly. He teaches critical writing and news ethics at the University of Southern California, USA. Charles S. Feldman's nearly 20 years as an investigative television and print journalist have straddled the crucial juncture of "old-fashioned" reporting and the introduction of the 24 hour news cycle and lend him an unique perspective to the advantages and pitfalls that this change has brought about.