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Bad News: How the Press Influences Presidential Elections - Media Bias & Political Impact | Political Science Books, Journalism Studies, Election Analysis
Bad News: How the Press Influences Presidential Elections - Media Bias & Political Impact | Political Science Books, Journalism Studies, Election Analysis

Bad News: How the Press Influences Presidential Elections - Media Bias & Political Impact | Political Science Books, Journalism Studies, Election Analysis" 使用场景: Ideal for political science students, journalists, and voters interested in media influence on elections.

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Description

As the 2000 presidential campaign has once again demonstrated, political journalism is an intrusive and nettlesome trade. More important, it is freighted with power―power to do good and also harm. But how much of power is real, and how much mere perception? Prize-winning reporter Robert Shogan draws on the lessons of seven presidential elections to answer these questions in Bad News. He shows how, amidst the upheavals of the 1960s, the press emerged as what many believed was the new dominant force in presidential politics. But as reporters moved into the power vacuum created by the demise of party vitality and the authority of the political bosses, they soon found themselves serving mainly as the instruments of a new political ruling class. The media, Mr. Shogan argues, now play the role of enablers. Without fully realizing it, they allow and abet the abuse of the political process by the candidates and their handlers. Bad News targets not only the machinations of the competing campaigns but the innate weaknesses and limitations of the press corps, with special attention to the 2000 election. “Too often journalists, myself included,” Mr. Shogan writes, “have been unwilling to learn what they do not know, and to make the information they possess relevant and important to their audiences. Too many of us, eager for attention, have been too willing to create stories that are larger than life and reality, and too impressed with our own importance to benefit from the criticism leveled against our work.” Rejecting conventional non-solutions, leavened by wit, and enriched by firsthand reportage, Bad News pierces the fog of pretense and hypocrisy that clouds the turbulent partnership of press and politicians. It provides voters with what they most need: a manual of self-defense against the excesses and distortions of presidential politics.

Reviews

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- Verified Buyer
IÕm a bit of a political junky, but an unusual one in that I get almost all my news from print. Before I was old enough to vote I realized that television news didnÕt have much to tell me, and I stopped watching. Except for election results, and an occasional breaking story, I havenÕt watched television news since Nixon was president. Still, I realize that itÕs where most Americans get their news, and so IÕm curious about how it covers candidates and how (or if) it shapes opinions. ThatÕs why I picked up this book Ð a survey of how the media (especially television) have covered presidential elections since 1968.I was very disappointed. I rarely pay attention to t.v. coverage, but even I knew almost everything in here. Robert Shogan has been covering presidential elections since 1948. I expected some professional insight, a few peeks behind the scenes, at least some thought-provoking opinions. Forget it. This is a bland recitation of everything you already know -- the press doesnÕt understand much about the making of a president, the press is more interested in the horse race than the issues, charismatic candidates do better than substantive ones on t.v., politicians avoid talking about issues and the press lets them get away with it. Is there anyone with even a mild interest in politics who doesnÕt know this already?The lack of insight is especially frustrating in ShoganÕs coverage of the 2000 election, which the media tripped all over itself trying to cover. Surely all the mistakes the media made in reporting on the election and its aftermath offers plenty of material for analyzing exactly how the media messes up when it tries to cover elections. But no. Shogan tells us the press adored McCain Ð which was pretty obvious Ð but doesnÕt offer an opinion about why. McCain was an underdog, but the press isnÕt always kind to underdogs Ð they certainly werenÕt kind to Bradley, Buchanan, or Nader. Shogan argues that the press went a lot easier on Bush than Gore, even though the majority of reporters probably voted Democratic. But once again, he offers no explanation of this paradox.I think this book deals with an important topic. It just doesnÕt cover it very well. Shogan accuses the press of dealing superficially with presidential elections. But in the end I think this book is guilty of the same superficiality.
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