Media Amnesia ― Rewriting the Economic Crisis

One of the major questions confronting us in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, the Brexit vote, and the rise of populism around the world, is what role the media has played in shaping our current political moment. This book offers an unprecedented dive into that question, reaching back more than a decade to show the stance of the media toward the 2008 financial crash, the recession that followed, austerity in the UK, the Eurozone crisis, and more. Throughout, we see—with damning clarity—that even as capitalism is in crisis, the media remains devoted to a narrative of a swollen public sector, welfare scams, and immigration threats. What does this mean for those who are committed to solving our manifest economic and social problems? How can we use what we know about the workings of the media to break through their filter and force progress? The insights in this book are the first step.

Laura Basu is a fellow in the Media and Communications Department at Goldsmiths, University of London, and at the Institute for Cultural Inquiry at Utrecht University.