Mightier than the sword
Subtitle: how the news media have shaped American history
By: Rodger Streitmatter
Edition: 3rd ed.
Publisher: Westview Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Boulder
Language: eng
Number of pages: 316
ISBN-13: 9780813346304; 9780813346311
Subjects: Press; Press and politics; Influence; Journalism
Description: In this path-breaking book, Rodger Streitmatter takes readers on a sightseeing tour of American history as influenced by the public press, visiting sixteen landmark events in US history, from the American Revolution and the civil rights movement to Watergate and 9/11. These are events that stir the political imagination; but, as Streitmatter shows, they also demonstrate how American journalism, since the 1760s, has not merely "recorded "this nation's history but has played a role in "shaping "it. This book is the first of its kind. Streitmatter avoids the mind-numbing lists of names, dates, and newspaper headlines that bog down the standard journalism history textbook. Instead, he focuses on a limited number of episodes, identifying common characteristics within the news media. The third edition includes an entirely new chapter on social media and the election of Barack Obama. This edition also looks beyond traditional journalistic outlets such as newspapers and television news reports to examine the modern-day role that the Internet and its various venues play in reporting the news and shaping history. -- Book Cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Sowing the seeds of revolution; title: Abolition: turning America's conscience against the sins of slavery; title: Slowing the momentum for women's rights; title: Attacking municipal corruption: the Tweed ring; title: Journalism as warmonger: the Spanish-American war; title: Muckraking: the golden age of reform journalism; title: Defying the Klu Klux Klan; title: Father Coughlin: fomenting anti-Semitism via the radio; title: Creating "Rosie the riveter": propelling the American woman into the workforce; title: Exposing Joe McCarthy: television's finest hour; title: Pushing the civil rights movement onto the national agenda; title: Vietnam War: bringing the battlefield into the American living room; title: Watergate forces the president to his knees; title: Rush Limbaugh: leading the Republican revolution; title: 9/11: failing the American public; title: Electing an African-American president: a case study in news media bias.