The Power of News - Tapa dura

Schudson's book presents a fine collection of his essays and research articles...He captures the cultural climate of past ages by describing colorful people and incidents, by citing the wisdom of well known historical figures, and by sensitive philosophizing about what it all means. -- Doris A. Graber "Political Science Quarterly" historical figures, and by sensitive philosophizing about what it all means. television coverage of the Vietnam War that caused the American public to turn against it. This is a carefully reasoned, well-researched study that will be valuable for readers wishing to understand contemporary media practices and their relationship to the current condition of democracy in America.--James Guimond "American Studies in Europe " Schudson is at his best when he is examining widely accepted truths, or myths as he calls them, as for instance that the press forced the resignation of Nixon, or that Reagan was a Great Communicator, or that it was television coverage of the Vietnam War that caused the American public to turn against it.--Michael Davie "Times Literary Supplement " [Schudson's book] presents a fine collection of his essays and research articles...He captures the cultural climate of past ages by describing colorful people and incidents, by citing the wisdom of well known historical figures, and by sensitive philosophizing about what it all means.--Doris A. Graber "Political Science Quarterly "

News is seen by some parties as being simply a form of information, mirroring the world, whereas others believe it is a form of propaganda, promoting a partisan view. Michael Schudson believes that news is really both and neither; it is a form of culture, complete with its own literary and social conventions and powerful in ways more subtle and complex than may be expected. This text examines the news media's emergence as a central institution of modern American society, a key repository of common knowledge and cultural authority. It looks at the way news has evolved in concert with American democracy and industry, subject to the social forces that shape the culture at large, and explores the origins of contemporary journalistic practices, including the interview, the summary lead, the preoccupation with the presidency, and the ironic and detached stance of the reporter toward the political world. It also rejects certain misconceptions, such as the ideas that the press brought about the Spanish-American War and that television decided the Kennedy-Nixon debates. Through this analysis, Schudson shows how the news, by making knowledge public, actually changes the character of knowledge and allows people to act on that knowledge in new and significant ways.