Coarseness in U.S. public communication
By: Philip Dalton and Eric Kramer
Contributors: Kramer, Eric Mark
Series: The Fairleigh Dickinson University Press series in communication studies -- 7
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Madison, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 225
ISBN-13: 9781611475036; 9781611475043
Subjects: Civilization; Mass media and culture; Communication and culture; Mass media; Communication; Vulgarity
Description: Public expression in the United States has become increasingly coarse. Whether it's stupid, rude, base, or anti-intellectual talk, it surrounds us. Popular television, film, music, art, and even some elements of religion have become as coarse, we argue, as our often-disparaged political dialogue. This book's contention is that the U.S. semantic environment is governed by tactics, not tact. We craft messages that work - that perform their desired function. We are instrumental, strategic communicators. As such, entertainment and journalism that draw an audience, for instance, are "good." This follows the logic that the marketplace, an aggregate of hedonically motivated individuals, decides what's good. Market logic, when unencumbered by what some characterize as quaint human sentimentalities, liberates us to cynically communicate whatever and however we want. Whatever improves ratings, web traffic, ticket sales, concession sales, repeat purchases, and earnings is good. Embracing this communicative paradigm more fully necessitates the culture's abandonment of collective notions of both taste and veracity, thus weakening the forces that keep individual desires in check. Our present communication environment is one that invites the hypertrophic expression of the ego, enabling elites to erode public communication standards and repeal laws and regulations resulting in immeasurable individual fortunes. Meanwhile, perpetual plutocratic rule is made even more certain by the cacophonous public noise the rest of us are busy making, leaving us incapable, disinterested, and unwilling to listen to one another. -- Book cover.

Dalton and Kramer's book goes beyond arguing that we live in a less civil communication environment. Anyone observing the tenor of today's national political discussion can see that. Instead, this book examines why public communication is coarser and what this coarseness means for our society and our democracy. . . . Dalton and Kramer's book is a warning that we are headed in a dangerous direction. For our public communication to help build the communities we desire, then our attitudes must reflect an appreciation for the humanity in others - even those with whom we disagree. We must recognize that our messages are more than reflections of the communities we want. Our messages actually constitute the communities in which we live. (Howard Dean, Former Vermont Governor and former Chairman of the DNC).
Notes: "Co-published with The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group."

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Noise, fragmentation, and absurdity in U.S. public communication; title: Coarseness in the public sphere; title: Coarseness in U.S. politics; title: Coarseness and reason; title: Art and cultivated vulgarity; title: Post-denominational Christianity and coarseness; title: Entertainment and the entertainment market-as-democracy meme.