"Almost everyone reads the newspaper, browses the Internet, listens to the radio, or watches TV. Journalism has a fundamental effect on our worldview - from the fight against global terrorism to the American presidential elections, celebrity scandal to the latest environmental coups. Hargreaves uses his position within the media to examine how this information is filtered down to the reader, and the many practical, political, and professional decisions that the journalist has to make." "Is journalism the 'first draft of history' or a dumbing-down of our culture and a glorification of the trivial and intrusive? At a time when star journalists can earn as much as celebrity footballers, Hargreaves argues that the core principles of 'freedom of the press' and the necessity of exposing the truth are as vital today as they ever were."--Jacket.