hen Bob McChesney raises the alarm about a media issue, I say pay attention. Even if no one else is sounding the alarm, pay attention. Why? Because no one spends more time than McChesney engaged in the serious endeavor of figuring out how we now communicate, how we will communicate, how powerful media corporations seek to influence that communication, and how government agencies can and do fail to protect the public interest in a wide-open and wide-ranging democratic discourse.

That’s what McChesney has done with Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy.

Political reporters go entire careers hoping for the opportunity to cover some world historical story, to be present at a moment history is truly being made. Even journalists who pour their careers into public events, who cover the leading stories all over the globe, can never have an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a story and be there as it grows to skyscraper proportions.

John Nichols is one of the fortunate few, and he chronicles the experience in Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, from Madison to Wall Street.

As activists make their way around Capitol Hill for today’s day of lobbying against the Stupak amendment, we ask: What will the Senate health care bill look like? Amidst the grandstanding, egos, and filibuster threats, is it possible to come out of the Senate with a more progressive bill than the House passed? Joining us [...]