Breaking: How the Media Works, When it Doesn't and Why it Matters

'A riveting and forensic account of a failed media and the incalculable damage it has done to our democracy' - James O'Brien
'Brimming with intelligence, energy, ethics and impeccable research' Samira Ahmed
'An authoritative guide to improving your media literacy' The Big Issue

The modern media is breaking.

Now, more than ever, the media is crucial in shaping what we know about the world around us. So what happens when this vital part of our society fails in its basic role and how can we even begin to understand the mess it's in?

From those who own the news and the battle for balance at the BBC, to the intricacies of political journalism and the trade's ethics, the modern media is as complex as it is flawed. Through personal experience of the newsrooms and insider interviews, journalist Mic Wright strips the engine of information, entertainment and propaganda back to its constituent parts and lays it bare. In this revealing deep-dive, Breaking shows how our news media works and, ultimately, how it doesn't.

With his frank and comprehensive analysis, Mic equips the reader with the tools to better interrogate our media, separating the fair from the ethically dubious, the truths from the half-truths . . . and the down-right lies.