Danny Goldberg

Danny Goldberg maintains in the following viewpoint that the amount of violent or sexual behavior portrayed by the media is vastly overstated by elite critics who view all forms of popular entertainment as “poison.” In reality, contends Goldberg, media entertainment varies widely in quality and should be evaluated on an individual basis. Goldberg is the Chairman and CEO of the Mercury Record Group and the copublisher of Tikkun magazine.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Goldberg, what is the “message theory” of entertainment, and why is this theory false?
2. What evidence does the author provide for why entertainment is not responsible for the deterioration of U.S. families?
3. Why is the comparison between violent entertainment and tobacco invalid, in the author’s view"

Cornel West is a...