The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them

Overview
Amy Goodman traces the intertwining of corporate power, political influence, and journalistic failure to show how concentrated wealth and media consolidation weaken democratic accountability. The narrative moves between investigative reporting, profiles of whistleblowers and victims, and trenchant critiques of the news industry's structural incentives that favor elites. Stories range from oil politics and military contracting to the routines of access-driven journalism that sanitize or ignore inconvenient truths.
Goodman grounds the argument in concrete episodes of contemporary American politics, especially the early 2000s, showing how policy choices and public narratives were shaped by private profit and institutional bias. The prose is direct and urgent, mixing first-hand reporting with documentary-style exposition and a persistent appeal to civic responsibility.

Core arguments
Power concentrates where money and influence meet, and that concentration produces predictable distortions: regulation that serves industry, wars that generate profit for contractors, and political figures who rotate between public office and private sector boards. Those who benefit from the status quo cultivate relationships with officials and fund think tanks and campaigns, creating a feedback loop that narrows the range of acceptable debate.
Mainstream media often fail to break or even notice that loop because ownership consolidation, advertising dependency, and the pursuit of access reward deference over scrutiny. Journalists who challenge entrenched interests face institutional pressures, from editorial policies that favor balance over accountability to market incentives that commodify controversy and minimize sustained investigative work.

Evidence and case studies
Sharp reporting illuminates how economic and political interests shaped policy choices and public perceptions. Goodman presents instances of corporate lobbying, conflicts of interest, and the influence of defense and energy contractors on decision-making, accompanied by human stories of communities and service members affected by those decisions. Whistleblowers and independent investigators provide crucial testimony, documenting discrepancies between official accounts and on-the-ground realities.
The book also tracks specific episodes where media coverage narrowed or distorted public understanding: crucial contexts were left out, competing narratives were underreported, and the complexity of motives behind policy choices was often flattened. Those examples serve to demonstrate not isolated errors but systematic tendencies that favor powerful sources and marginalize dissenting voices.

Critique of mainstream media
Corporate consolidation of broadcast and print outlets creates homogeneity in news agendas and limits the investigative resources devoted to sustained scrutiny of power. Editorial choices are shaped by corporate boards and advertising relationships, producing a version of events that frequently privileges access to officials over critical distance. The result is reporting that can echo official lines, repeat unverified claims, or present the choices of elites as inevitabilities.
Goodman also interrogates journalistic norms such as the mistaken equivalence of two sides when one side is materially advantaged, and the fetishization of "balance" that can obscure evidence. The critique is less a denunciation of individual reporters than a diagnosis of systemic constraints that prebend coverage toward elites.

Alternative media and civic response
Independent outlets and community reporting are presented as vital correctives, offering investigative tenacity and perspectives marginalized by commercial outlets. Goodman emphasizes the role of grassroots movements, public-interest journalism, and sustained citizen engagement in challenging entrenched power and restoring accountability. Those alternatives model how persistent inquiry and solidarity can force neglected stories into the public sphere.
The book urges readers to demand better journalism, support independent reporting, and remain skeptical of packaged narratives that align too neatly with powerful interests. It portrays media reform and civic vigilance as essential components of a healthier public life.

Style and impact
The tone mixes indignation with clarity, combining narrative detail and documentary evidence to make complex networks of interest understandable and compelling. The writing aims to mobilize as much as to inform, insisting that knowledge about power structures should translate into political and civic action.
By exposing patterns of collusion between money, politics, and media, the book seeks to energize readers to scrutinize sources, support independent journalism, and press institutions for transparency and accountability. The result is both a diagnosis of contemporary media pathology and a call to reclaim a more democratic public sphere.