Beyond Belief The American Press And

In this book, Deborah Lipstadt argues that, from 1933 to 1945, the American press failed to treat the destruction of European Jews as urgent news. When newspaper did report on the horrors being perpetrated, they adopted a skeptical posture, burying small stories with ambiguous headlines on inside pages. Lipstadt documents how the demand for objectivity , the cynicism or gullibility of reporters, the incredulity of editors, and an atmosphere of isolationism helped to shape the news - and influenced policymakers who might have saved countless lives. Analyzing this naive (or worse) press coverage within the context of American journalistic practices in the 1930s and 1940s, she explains how and why the press missed one of the biggest stories of the century.