Routledge There's No Good News: Journalism, Crisis and Philosophy of Praxis

There’s No Good News: Journalism, Crisis, and Philosophy of Praxis is a searing critique of contemporary journalism and its complicity in sustaining capitalist hegemony. Drawing on a rich tapestry of political philosophy, media theory and historical analysis, the book reworks the classic ‘propaganda model’ of Herman and Chomsky through a Marxist lens, introducing the dialectical potential of Gramscian ‘common sense’ as a tool of critique and renewal. At its core, this book argues that journalism, far from being a neutral arbiter of truth, functions as a powerful ideological apparatus―manufacturing consent, distorting reality and reinforcing dominant class interests. Set against the backdrop of the Gaza conflict and the global crisis of capitalism, the book dissects the failures of Western media to report truthfully on war, politics and resistance. It exposes how propaganda, failures of logic and the illusion of objectivity shape public discourse, while journalists―sometimes unwittingly―serve as ‘quotidian intellectuals’ of the ruling class. The text challenges the foundational myths of journalism, including the Fourth Estate and the marketplace of ideas, and critiques the normative philosophical frameworks that underpin journalistic practice. In a time when the ‘moral algebra’ that animates freedom of speech is weaponised to silence dissent, the book interrogates the limits and contradictions of liberal democratic ideals. It explores how speech, protest and journalism are policed under the guise of combating extremism, revealing a chilling erosion of civil liberties. Through a dialectical and materialist approach, the book redefines truth as historically contingent, socially constructed and inseparable from class struggle. Drawing on Antonio Gramsci’s ‘philosophy of praxis’, the text insists that truth must be more than an intellectual exercise―it must be a guide to action. Journalism, reimagined through a materialist and dialectical lens, becomes a tool for informing the public and empowering the oppressed. This vision of ‘integral journalism’ demands that reporters commit to truth as a weapon in the struggle for justice. With philosophical rigour and political urgency, There’s No Good News offers a bold vision for journalism beyond the confines of propaganda, towards a future where truth serves liberation, not power.