Sound-bite saboteurs
Subtitle: public discourse, education, and the state of democratic deliberation
By: Julie Drew, William Lyons, and Lance Svehla
Contributors: Lyons, William; Svehla, Lance
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Albany
Language: eng
Number of pages: 265
ISBN-13: 9781438430416; 9781438430423
Description: "Sound-Bite Saboteurs examines the emergence of a multifaceted, multimedia culture that encourages the use of sound bites to silence one's opponents at the expense of democratic deliberation and debate. No simple partisan phenomenon or mere attempt to "spin" a particular issue, sound-bite sabotage is, the authors argue, a sophisticated and media-savvy effort by public and private elites to destroy the grounds of public discourse, higher education, and democratic argument. By displacing democratic debate with political spectacle, sound-bite saboteurs attempt to keep citizens more entertained but less informed, more cynical but less engaged, more adept as consumers but less adept as agents. In a broad-based and integrated analysis of this phenomenon, the authors argue that sound-bite sabotage can and must be resisted both within the classroom and beyond."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Sound-bite sabotage : illustrative stories and techniques; title: Roots of sound-bite sabotage : private sector leadership; title: Conflicts as opportunities : public sector leadership; title: Saboteurs, sound bites, and simulacra : democratic agency and academic discourse in a digital age; title: The possibilities of engaged cynicism : ideals, practice, and citizenship in a democracy; title: Public discourse and democratic deliberation.