Here, Aufderheide demonstrates criticism that is both activist and analytical. She probes the processes that shape our culture by examining diverse subjects, including the struggle to create quality children's television programming, the meaning of Paul Harvey, the evolution of the war film over the past thirty years, and the ways journalism is changed by the Internet and other new technologies.

Throughout, Aufderheide foregrounds democratic values, displaying the penetrating insights that have made her a leading public intellectual and commentator on contemporary culture.