Mass Media

Indeks : p.133 - 140 ; This book seeks to fill that void by taking an explicitly historical approach to the question of how reporters do their jobs and what kind of impact they have on politics and society. It document the rise and fall of the American media establishment from 1789 to 2000. The early days of our country did not feature a powerful media. The partisan excesses of the first few decades of our country's existence and the commercial tabloidism that followed weakened reporters and gave them scant public respect. With their tendency to mimic the views of party leaders and write sensationalistic accounts of crime and vice, nineteenth century journalists simply did not have much credibility or independent power. It is designed for use in several different courses: introduction to American politics, mass media, campaigns and elections, and American political development, among others. With its emphasis on readable case studies showing how journalists and editors have played different roles at various points in American history, it reveals how the media function and why the contemporary media have lost so much respect and clout.