"What role does the media play in making social policy? Malcolm Dean, veteran Guardian journalist, provides a unique insight on a much neglected but crucial area of policy-making. His case studies are a must read." ----Howard Glennerster, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, London School of Economics. "Malcolm Dean's fascinating book explores an under-discussed dimension of politics -- how policy and political decisions are shaped by the popular media. Many of his examples should cause us great concern." ----Baroness Shirley Williams. "Malcolm Dean (a colleague of mine for many years at the Guardian) provides a detailed documentation of the way the press has over many years skewed its coverage of social policy issues to fit its own agenda. The damage that the News of the World and other newspapers did in that context is now universally known. The damage done in the context of social policy, so much less analysed and discussed, deserves the same exposure; and gets it here." ----David McKie, author and former Guardian journalist. "Virtually a social history of modern Britain, - [written from] a fantastic vantage point - with a lightness of touch. " ----Times Higher Education. "A book of considerable learning and importance, written with charm and clarity...that deserves to become a core text for students and should be read by all serious journalists." ----Peter Oborne, British Journalism Review. "Malcolm Dean has been uniquely well-placed to witness innumerable policy successes and failures, and the often distorted lens through which they have been covered by the media. This thoughtful and wise book will be invaluable for anyone working in the media who's involved in explaining social policy, and to anyone involved in social policy who needs to get the media on their side." ----Geoff Mulgan, former Director of the Prime Minister's Policy Unit and the Cabinet Office's Strategy Unit in Tony Blair's Government. "Malcolm Dean had a media seat in the stalls of social policy through four tumultuous decades. He's been there, seen it - and knows it better than anyone. A vital subject: a definitive book." ----Peter Preston, former editor of The Guardian "As one would expect from an ex-journalist of a quality newspaper, the book is well written in a very accessible style. In particular, there is none of the jargon that is a feature of so many academic books on the media and politics." Raymond Kuhn, Journal of Social Policy
