BOOK REVIEW by Aulia R. Sungkar (Ollie)
Genre: Non-fiction/ Journalism
Author: Laura Basu
Publisher: Pluto Press, UK (272-page paperback available from April, 2018)
The independent scholar with PhD from Utrecht University and affiliated with the Communications and Media department at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Utrecht University, Laura Basu laid bare the problems that have been plaguing the media. From Donald Trump, to Brexit and the rise of nationalist populism across Europe, the media is seen to have forgotten the underlying reasons for the series of crises that seem ready to spiral out of control. Laura Basu spent close to a decade following the news coverage and witnessed how the media has opted for devoting itself to a narrative of swollen public sectors, out-of-control immigration and benefits cheats. She deftly concluded that without a rejection of neoliberal capitalism we’ll be stuck in an infinite cycle of crisis.