News
The Politics of Illusion
7th Edition
Published on 13. October 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-321-42161-6 (ISBN)
Description
This favorite of both instructors and students is a "behind-the-scenes" tour of news in American politics. The core question explored in this book is: How well does the news, as the core of the national political information system, serve the needs of democracy? In investigating this question, the book examines how various political actors-from presidents and members of Congress, to interest organizations and citizen-activists-try to get their messages into the news.
More details
Edition
7th edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
397 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-321-42161-6 (9780321421616)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Content
*note some case studies will be replaced by those new ones mentioned
above
Foreword by Doris Graber
Preface
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1 THE NEWS ABOUT DEMOCRACY: AN INTRODUCTION TO
THE AMERICAN POLITICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM
News and Democracy
Gatekeeping: Who and What Makes the News
News as a Democratic Information System
Politicians, Press, and the People
A Definition of News
The New Gatekeeping
How Mediated Government Works
Case Study: Governing with the News: Terror Comes to America
The Fragile Link between News and Democracy
Why Free Speech Cannot Guarantee Good Information
Soft News and the Turn Away from Politics
Myths about News Bias
What Kind of News Would Better Serve Democracy?
Notes
CHAPTER 2 NEWS CONTENT: FOUR INFORMATION BIASES THAT
MATTER
A Different Kind of Bias
Four Information Biases That Matter: An Overview
Personalization
Dramatization
Fragmentation
The Authority-Disorder Bias
How Competing Journalists Write Such Similar Stories
Case Study: how George W. Bush Got His Swagger
Four Information Biases in the News: An In-Depth Look
Bias as Part of the Political Information System
News Bias and Discouraged Citizens
Reform Anyone?
Notes
CHAPTER 3 THE NEWS AUDIENCE: INFORMATION PROCESSING AND
PUBLIC OPINION
News, Citizen Information, and Public Opinion
The Citizen's Dilemma: Who and What to Believe
Internet versus Mass Media: Why Mass News Still Matters
Processing the News
Why People Prefer TV: Audio and Visual Information
News Frames and Political Learning
Case Study: National Attention Deficit Disorder?
News and Personal Experience: What Gets Through
Uses and Gratifications: Other Reasons People Follow the News
The Future: Citizens, Information, and Politics
Notes
CHAPTER 4 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF NEWS
Corporate Profit Logic and News Content
Case Study: All the News That Fits (the Audience Demographics)
The Political Economy of News
Economics versus Democracy: Inside the News Business
The Media Monopoly: Arguments For and Against
The Telecommunications Act of 1996
Effects of the Media Monopoly: Five Information Trends
How Does Corporate Influence Operate?
News on the Internet: Perfecting the Commercialization of Information?
Commercialized Information and Citizen Confidence
Megatrends: Technology, Economics, and Social Change
Personalized Information and the Future of Democracy
Whither the Public Sphere?
Notes
CHAPTER 5 HOW POLITICIANS MAKE THE NEWS
The Politics of Illusion
The Sources of Political News
Case Study: Selling the Iraqi War
News Images as Strategic Political Communication
News Bias and Press-Government Relations
The Goals of Strategic Political Communication
Symbolic Politics and the Techniques of Image Making
News Management: From Staging to Damage Control
News Management Styles and the Modern Presidency
Press Relations: Feeding the Beast
Government and the Politics of News Making
Notes
CHAPTER 6 HOW JOURNALISTS REPORT THE NEWS
Work Routines and Professional Norms
When Routines Produce Quality Reporting
How Reporting Practices Contribute to News Bias
Reporters and Officials: Cooperation and Control
The Insider Syndrome
Reporters as Members of News Organizations: Pressures to Standardize
Reporters as a Pack: Pressures to Agree
Feeding Frenzy: When the Pack Attacks
The Paradox of Organizational Routines
When Journalism Works
Democracy with or without Citizens?
Notes
CHAPTER 7 INSIDE THE PROFESSION: OBJECTIVITY AND POLITICAL
AUTHORITY
Journalists and Their Professions
The Paradox of Objective Reporting
Defining Objectivity: Fairness, Balance, and Truth
The Origins of Professional Journalism Standards
Case Study: The Curious Origins of Objective Journalism
Professional Practices and News Bias
The Adversarial Role of the Press
Standards of Decency and Good Taste
Documentary Reporting Practices
The Use of Stories as Standardized News Formats
Reporters as Generalists
The Practice of Editorial Review
Objectivity Reconsidered
Notes
CHAPTER 8 ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS DEMOCRACY: SOLUTIONS FOR
CITIZENS, POLITICIANS, AND JOURNALISTS
The News about the Private Media System
The News about Public Broadcasting
The News about Objective Journalism
News and Power in America: Ideal versus Reality
Why the Myth of a Free Press Persists
Proposals for Citizens, Journalists, and Politicians
Case Study: Citizen Input from Interactive News to Desktop Democracy
The Peris of Virtual Democracy
Corporate Social Responsibility: A Place to Start
Notes
Index
above
Foreword by Doris Graber
Preface
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1 THE NEWS ABOUT DEMOCRACY: AN INTRODUCTION TO
THE AMERICAN POLITICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM
News and Democracy
Gatekeeping: Who and What Makes the News
News as a Democratic Information System
Politicians, Press, and the People
A Definition of News
The New Gatekeeping
How Mediated Government Works
Case Study: Governing with the News: Terror Comes to America
The Fragile Link between News and Democracy
Why Free Speech Cannot Guarantee Good Information
Soft News and the Turn Away from Politics
Myths about News Bias
What Kind of News Would Better Serve Democracy?
Notes
CHAPTER 2 NEWS CONTENT: FOUR INFORMATION BIASES THAT
MATTER
A Different Kind of Bias
Four Information Biases That Matter: An Overview
Personalization
Dramatization
Fragmentation
The Authority-Disorder Bias
How Competing Journalists Write Such Similar Stories
Case Study: how George W. Bush Got His Swagger
Four Information Biases in the News: An In-Depth Look
Bias as Part of the Political Information System
News Bias and Discouraged Citizens
Reform Anyone?
Notes
CHAPTER 3 THE NEWS AUDIENCE: INFORMATION PROCESSING AND
PUBLIC OPINION
News, Citizen Information, and Public Opinion
The Citizen's Dilemma: Who and What to Believe
Internet versus Mass Media: Why Mass News Still Matters
Processing the News
Why People Prefer TV: Audio and Visual Information
News Frames and Political Learning
Case Study: National Attention Deficit Disorder?
News and Personal Experience: What Gets Through
Uses and Gratifications: Other Reasons People Follow the News
The Future: Citizens, Information, and Politics
Notes
CHAPTER 4 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF NEWS
Corporate Profit Logic and News Content
Case Study: All the News That Fits (the Audience Demographics)
The Political Economy of News
Economics versus Democracy: Inside the News Business
The Media Monopoly: Arguments For and Against
The Telecommunications Act of 1996
Effects of the Media Monopoly: Five Information Trends
How Does Corporate Influence Operate?
News on the Internet: Perfecting the Commercialization of Information?
Commercialized Information and Citizen Confidence
Megatrends: Technology, Economics, and Social Change
Personalized Information and the Future of Democracy
Whither the Public Sphere?
Notes
CHAPTER 5 HOW POLITICIANS MAKE THE NEWS
The Politics of Illusion
The Sources of Political News
Case Study: Selling the Iraqi War
News Images as Strategic Political Communication
News Bias and Press-Government Relations
The Goals of Strategic Political Communication
Symbolic Politics and the Techniques of Image Making
News Management: From Staging to Damage Control
News Management Styles and the Modern Presidency
Press Relations: Feeding the Beast
Government and the Politics of News Making
Notes
CHAPTER 6 HOW JOURNALISTS REPORT THE NEWS
Work Routines and Professional Norms
When Routines Produce Quality Reporting
How Reporting Practices Contribute to News Bias
Reporters and Officials: Cooperation and Control
The Insider Syndrome
Reporters as Members of News Organizations: Pressures to Standardize
Reporters as a Pack: Pressures to Agree
Feeding Frenzy: When the Pack Attacks
The Paradox of Organizational Routines
When Journalism Works
Democracy with or without Citizens?
Notes
CHAPTER 7 INSIDE THE PROFESSION: OBJECTIVITY AND POLITICAL
AUTHORITY
Journalists and Their Professions
The Paradox of Objective Reporting
Defining Objectivity: Fairness, Balance, and Truth
The Origins of Professional Journalism Standards
Case Study: The Curious Origins of Objective Journalism
Professional Practices and News Bias
The Adversarial Role of the Press
Standards of Decency and Good Taste
Documentary Reporting Practices
The Use of Stories as Standardized News Formats
Reporters as Generalists
The Practice of Editorial Review
Objectivity Reconsidered
Notes
CHAPTER 8 ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS DEMOCRACY: SOLUTIONS FOR
CITIZENS, POLITICIANS, AND JOURNALISTS
The News about the Private Media System
The News about Public Broadcasting
The News about Objective Journalism
News and Power in America: Ideal versus Reality
Why the Myth of a Free Press Persists
Proposals for Citizens, Journalists, and Politicians
Case Study: Citizen Input from Interactive News to Desktop Democracy
The Peris of Virtual Democracy
Corporate Social Responsibility: A Place to Start
Notes
Index