Danny Schechter, author of the new Cosimo book Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal, will appear at The National Arts Club at 15 Gramercy Park South in New York City on Thursday, November 20, from 6pm to 8pm, at a gala event to celebrate the publication of the book. See the National Arts Club’s Web site for more info.

Schechter’s been busy around the mediascape getting the word out about Plunder. At The Editors Weblog, Katherine Thompson explores, with Schechter, the corporate media’s failure to report on the predictions of the global financial crisis that were appearing in smaller media, and its continued lack of understanding of the issues involved. A taste:

Schechter believes that the media failed in its role because of vested interests. He points out that one of the key sources of revenue for newspapers is real estate advertising in weekend supplements and classifieds, as well as advertisements for credit card and refinancing companies. As a result, he argues there is a connection between the real estate and newspaper industry, their future and success are intertwined. Schechter says, “The newspaper industry is the marketing arm of the real estate industry. In some cities you actually had newspapers getting a piece of the action of sales through the ads that they generated. So they were actually part of the corruption of this whole relationship. So of course there was little real scrutiny about what was actually happening in the neighbourhoods where houses were flipping, where people who couldn’t afford to buy houses were buying them with bogus mortgages. Newspapers were making money on the sales of these homes.”

LinkTV has been airing Schechter’s documentary In Debt We Trust, and features new interview segments during which host Wendy Hanamura and Schechter discuss how we can free ourselves from the tyranny of debt, and why the mainstream media has preferred to keep this story under wraps. More info at LinkTV; go here for details on how to watch LinkTV on cable and satellite; watch excerpts from the Hanamura/Schechter segments here.

Schechter recently appeared at McNally Jackson Bookstore in New York to discuss the ongoing financial crisis. Excerpts from his comversation with the crowd:

Schechter also recently appeared on NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook; listen to the program here.

Finally, a recent New York Times article about the credit-card crunch — “In Civil Court, One Nation, Under Debt” — mentions Schechter’s prescience on the economic meltdown:

What happens in the civil courts are the last tremors of an economy built around the twin seductions of consumption and debt, a dance portrayed in “In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Bursts,” a 2007 documentary by Danny Schechter.

Read the introduction to Plunder here. (Alert: PDF.)

Plunder is available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.