Information is the linchpin to a healthy democracy. Substantive policy debates critically depend on an educated and well-informed public. However, with "balanced" reporting in which equal weight is given to facts and biased opinion, journalists have become part of the problem. Though the failure of the political process cannot rest entirely with the media's shortcomings, it is clear that without a correction in the way journalism is conducted and received, there is little chance of things changing for the better in our public forum. Thomas Patterson confronts this critical issue head-on in his tautly argued book Informing the News. In laying out the problems facing journalism today Patterson draws on a wealth of statistics and surprising, fascinating scientific studies which probe how people psychologically process information and reach mental conclusions that can become very difficult to alter. His indictment of the profession is a sobering one. Patterson also proposes constructive changes to improve the quality of journalism today. In order to be relevant journalists can no longer be reporters of facts. Patterson calls for a "knowledge-based journalism" whereby journalists possess a level of subject expertise in order to contextualize stories and not rely on sourced statements as fact. He also realistically approaches the challenges of communicating trustworthy and relevant news into the marketplace and creating an audience for it. In this short, influential study, with the backing of both the Carnegie Corporation and the Knight Foundation, Patterson sets out a necessary call-to-arms for journalists. It speaks not only to professional journalists, but to everyone who is concerned with the fate of the democratic process in America. As the journalist Walter Lippmann noted nearly a century ago, democracy falters "if there is no steady supply of trustworthy and relevant news." Today's journalists are not providing it. Too often, reporters give equal weight to facts and biased opinion, stir up small controversies, and substitute infotainment for real news. Even when they get the facts rights, they often misjudge the context in which they belong. Information is the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. Public opinion and debate suffer when citizens are misinformed about current affairs, as is increasingly the case. Though the failures of today's communication system cannot be blamed solely on the news media, they are part of the problem, and the best hope for something better. Patterson proposes "knowledge-based journalism" as a corrective. Unless journalists are more deeply informed about the subjects they cover, they will continue to misinterpret them and to be vulnerable to manipulation by their sources. In this book, derived from a multi-year initiative of the Carnegie Corporation and the Knight Foundation, Patterson calls for nothing less than a major overhaul of journalism practice and education. The book speaks not only to journalists but to all who are concerned about the integrity of the information on which America's democracy depends.