Book Review: 'Unfreedom Of The Press' By Mark Levin

Conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin has a new book coming out tomorrow, but if you've spent any time listening to his show in the last month you are already painfully aware of that fact. In recent weeks Levin has relentlessly promoted the release, arguing that it's not just an important book for historians but that it's also a book the progressive-socialist media and their lackeys are eager to suppress. He's framed the purchase of his book as the chance for patriotic, freedom-loving Constitutionalists to stand up against the powers of oppression. It's the clash of civilizations, all compressed down to one book purchase.

That premise is really the intellectual core of "Unfreedom Of The Press," which makes the argument that until recent years, journalism has been filled with fair-minded people who had the country's best interests at heart. But now journalism is corrupted by progressive activists who lie and mislead in order to further their political agenda.

Like fellow conservative talker Glenn Beck, Levin uses his supposed expert grasp of history to build the framework for his argument, although if you've ever cracked open a history book you might find Levin's recounting of journalism's golden era to be unfamiliar. Levin's intellectual process seems to involve starting at a point he seems to believe is factual and then re-engineer history backwards to fit his premise. It's a powerful approach, assuming you only believe his facts and his point of view.

I took copius notes as I read the book over the weekend and had originally planned to walk readers through a long recitation of the book's many intellectual flaws and inconsistencies. But about 1,200 words into that review, I realized that I was likely wasting my time. No matter how hard I worked on the piece, no one who is a regular listener to Levin is likely to walk away with a changed mind. The book-like Levin's show-is built on the core principles that all progressives are socialists, all journalists are beholden to the Left and a wide range of cultural institutions and organizations are conspiring together to silence conservatives.

I don't doubt that argument is what Levin believes, but it's worth noting that the conservative media world is built around these beliefs. And as much as anything, that skepticism about the Left and American society in general is less about politics than it is about making a buck. If you convince your listeners that the mainstream media isn't to be trusted than it's easier to convince them to fork over money for a subscription to listen to the "real truth." It's easier to persuade them into purchasing books promising them a look behind the corrupt gatekeepers or sell them conservative-sounding products covering everything from mobile phones to life insurance.

Modern day conservatism is often not much more than a carney game of intellectual three-card monte. It's all about confusing the issues and making it appear as if a listerner's only option is to keep spending money on the "real truth."

There are a number of valid criticisms to be made about journalism in 2019. But expecting to find them in a book written by Mark Levin is like expecting to learn more about low-income housing by watching HGTV. That's not what they're selling.