By Erin DostalThe Daily Northwestern
A copy of “What Liberal Media?: The Truth About Bias and the News” by Eric Alterman was placed in the mailbox of each student in the Medill School of Journalism on Wednesday as a gift from Ralph Nader.
Medill Prof. Richard Roth said he received a call from Nader in March “out of the blue,” and that Nader offered to send 1,200 copies of the book to “America’s best journalism school.”
Roth said once he recognized Nader’s voice, he realized it wasn’t a gag.
Nader is best known for running on the Green Party ticket in the 2000 presidential election, as well as for his early career as a consumer advocate. Many liberals blame him for taking votes away from Al Gore by luring would-be Democratic voters to his leftist third party in 2000.
“I’m sorry to say while I had him on the phone I didn’t make any moves by saying, ‘Are you running for president again?'” Roth said. “I should have asked while I had him.”
The book, which was first published in 2003, intends to show that the concept of a liberal media in America is flawed, arguing that pundits like Ann Coulter and Bill O’Reilly damage the outlook of the American public.
Laura Mayer, a Medill sophomore, said while it is great to receive a free book, she’s curious “if the professors in Medill who gave us the book for free had thought about how biased that seems.”
Mayer said she wondered if professors considered the implications of the donation of the book before relaying it to students.
James D’Angelo, vice president of College Republicans and a Communication sophomore, said although he doesn’t think Northwestern should discourage gifts like this one, he finds it odd that Nader would choose to donate Alterman’s book to such a liberal campus.
“Every class I’ve ever taken has been liberal slanting,” he said. “I don’t think anyone is hurting from the liberal side of things.”
Roth said while he hadn’t read the book, he knew that Alterman was reputable.
Alterman is a media columnist for The Nation and an English professor at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He also writes a blog titled “Altercation” for Media Matters for America.
“(The book) is likely not some diatribe,” Roth said, adding that he is wary of “Trojan horses.”
Medill lecturer. Jon Marshall said that he would probably read the book after receiving it for free.
“I’m always happy to get a gift,” he said. “I don’t see any downside to getting it.”
Although Medill has received mass orders of books before, they are usually written by former students or professors and are sent to the faculty, Roth said. It’s rare to receive a gift like this from a politician.
“I finished nine years here and I haven’t had this happen,” Roth said.
Reach Erin Dostal at [email protected].
