|
Com 450: Politics and
Media
The Reading List |
Updated 11/9/00
Those titles without complete bibliography information were recent
publications found at current websites.
- Ansolabehere, Stephen, et. al. Going Negative: How Attack Ads Shrink
and Polarize the Electorate. (Free Press, 2000)
- Ansolabehere, Stephen. The Media Goal:
American Politics in the Television Age. 1993.
- Asher, Herbert. Polling and the
Public: What Every Citizen Should Know. 4th ed. CQ Press, 1998.
- Davis, Richard. New Media and American Politics. (1998)
- Bacon, An Advertisement Touching a Holy War. (2000)
- Bagdikian, Ben. The Media Monopoly 5th Ed. Beacon
Press: Boston, 1977. (310, 314, 316) This book is written by
the foremost authority on media concentration, and while several
big deals have happened since it was written, the ideas and perspective
in this book are essential reading for any serious student in
our field.
- Bailey, Michael Everett.
Christian Politics Rocking America: Bailey For Life for Congress,
1992. Barn and Baily, 1994.
- Baker, William. Down the Tube: The Failure of American
Television. 1998 ( I haven't seen this one yet, but saw an
interview the author, GM of WNET. He said that TV had only one
measure -- the bottom line -- and would air "nude bowling"
if that would make money. I hope someone finds this book and
reads it; I'd love to hear what you think.
- Ball, Rick, R. Ball, NBC News, T. Russert. Meet the Press:
50 Years of Making History in the Making. (Com 315, 340,
TV Apprec. , Pol and Media.)
- Bennett, William J. The Death of Outrage: Bill Clinton
and the Assault on American Ideals. Free Press: New York,
1998. Whatever your political persuasion, this book offers a
perspective that is valuable food for thought. (Com 450:Politics
and Media; Com 310)
- Berry, Joseph. John F. Kennedy and
the Media: The First Televison President. University Press of America,
1987.
- Brown, Thomas: JFK: History of an
Image. Indiana U. Press, 1988.
- Carville, James. All's Fair: Love,
War, and Running for President. Touchstone, 1995.
- Carville, James. Stickin': The Case
for Loyalty. Simon & Schuster, 2000.
- Cook, Timothy E. Governing the News: The News Media As
A Political Institution. University of Chicago Press: Chicago,
1998.
- Cunningham, Liz. Talking Politics:
Choosing the President in the Television Age. Preager, 1995.
- Davis, Richard. The Web of Politics: The Internet's Impact
on the American Political System. New York: Oxford, 1999 (Politics
and Media, 310, 316, 314)
- Dennis, Everett E. and John C. Merrill Media Debates:
Issues in Communication. 2nd. ed. Longman Publishers: White
Plains, NY, 1996 ISBN: 0-813-1739-8 (Com 314, Com 316, Com 400,
Com 480 Pol & Media) Interesting and thorough book about
the Presidential debates. If you are interested in political
science or reporting on government or politics, you should read
this one some time.
- Dickerson, Nancy. Among those Present. Autobiography
of one of the first women in broadcast journalism.
- Dole, Bob. Great Political WIT:
Laughing (Almost) all the Way to the White House, Bantam Doubleday,
1998.
- Donavan, Robert and Ray Scherer.
Unsilent Revolution: Television News and American Public Life. Cambridge
U. Press, 1992. This is an excellent book and very readable. I
used it as a text in this class for several years. While it is a bit dated,
its discussion of elections in the period between 1950 and 1990 are
excellent and well worth reading.
- Doppelt, Jack and Ellen Shearer. Nonvoters:
America's No-Shows. Sage, 1999.
- Entman, Robert. Democracy Without Citizens. Oxford :
New York, 1989.
- Fallows, James. Breaking the News Random House,
1996 ISBN 0-679-75876-x. This is an excellent, excellent book
on the news industry. A must-read for any serious media student
or PR major.
- Fowler, Robert Booth. Religion and
Politics in America: Faith, Culture and Strategic Choices, 2nd ed.
Westview Press, 1998.
- Friendly, Fred. Due to Circumstances Beyond our Control.
1999.
- Fuller, Jack. News Values:
Ideas in An Information Age. University of Chicago Press:
Chicago, 1996. ISBN 0-226-26880-2. Com 450 Politics and Media;
Com 310. Outstanding Book, required reading in 450. Insightful
look at how and why news media operate the way they do.
- Garner, Joe. We Interrupt
this Broadcast: The Actual Broadcasts of the Events that Stopped
Our Lives. Sourcebooks, Inc.: 1998. ISBN: 15700713286 This
is a terrific book for your reference library. It includes a
CD-ROM with recordings of the actual reports. May not be the best for a report
for Com 450, but an excellent resource.
- Ginsburg, Benjamin. Politics by Any
Other Means.: The Declining Importance of Elections in America.
New York: Basic Books, 1990.
- Graber, Doris. Mass Media and
American Politics, 5th Edition. (or most recent edition) This is
an excellent resource.
- Hart, Roderick. Seducing
America: How Television Charms the Modern Voter, Revised Ed.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998.
- Hatfield, J.H., Fortunate Son: George
W.Bush and The Making of An American President. Soft Skull Press,
Inc. 2000.
- Helwlweg, Susan A. , Michael Pfau and Steven
Brydon. Televised Media Debates: Advocacy in Contemporary America.
New York: Praeger, 1992.
- Herman, Edward S. and Noam Chomsky. Manufacturing Consent:
The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York:
Pantheon, 1988.
- Hirsh, Alan. Talking Heads: Political
Talk Shows and their Star Pundits. St. Martin's Press, 1991.
- Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. Dirty
Politics: Deception, Distraction, and Democracy (1993)
- Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. Packaging
the Presidency: A History and Criticism of Presidential Campaign
Advertising. (1996)
- Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. Spiral of
Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good. Oxford U. Press, 1997.
- Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. The
Interplay of Influence: News, Advertising Politics and the Mass Media.
Wadsworth, 1997.
- Janeway, Michael. Republic of Denial:
Press, Politics and Public Life. Yale U. Press, 1999.
- Johnson, H.A. Talking Heads: Political Talk Shows and Their
Star
Pundits. New York: St. Martins, 1991.
- Kamber, Victor. Poison Politics: Are
Negative Campaigns Destroying Democracy? (1997)
- Kaufman, James Lee. Selling Outer
Space: Kennedy, the Media and Funding Project Apollo,
1961-1963. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1994.
- Kerbel, Matthew. Remote
and Controlled: Media Politics in a Cynical Age. Westview
Press: Boulder CO, 1998 ISBN 0-8133-6869
- Kernell, Samuel. Going Public: New
Strategies of Presidential Leadership. 2nd ed. CQ Press, 1993.
- Keyes, Alan. Our Character,
Our Future: Reclaiming America's Moral Destiny.
- Kryzanek, Michael J. Angry, Bored
Confused: A Citizen Handbook of American Politics. Westview, 1999.
- Kurtz. Howard. Spin Cycle: Inside the Clinton Propaganda
Machine. New York: Free Press, 1998.
- Maltese, John Anthony. Spin Control: The White House of Communications
and The Management of Presidential News. (1994)
- Kraus, Sidney. The Great Debates: Background, Perspective,
Effects. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press)
- Kurtz, Howard. Spin Cycle: Inside the Clinton Propaganda
Machine. (1998)
- Lapin, Rabbi Daniel. America's Real Power Multnomah:
1999.
- Lichter, Robert. The Video Campaign:
Network Coverage of the 1988 Primaries. 1988.
- Manchester, William. The Death of a
President: November 20-25,
1963. Harper & Row: New York, 1967.
- Matthews, Chris. Hardball: How
Politics is Played--Told By One Who Knows the Game. New York:
HarperPrennial, 1998.
- Mazzocco, Dennis. Networks of Power: Corporate TV's Threat
to Democracy. (Com 310, 316, 400) Thought provoking book
about media monopoly and corporate take over in broadcasting.
Students have commented very favorably about this book.
- McGinnis, Joe. The Selling of the President. (Com
310, 314, 316, 380 , Politics and Media) This is a classic in
the field. A must read for any aspiring political reporter or
media consultant.
- Mickleson, Sig. The Decade That Shaped Television News"
CBS in the 1950s. Westview, CN: Praeger, 1998.
- Mickleson, Sig. The Electronic Mirror: Politics in the Age of
Television. New York: Dodd Mead, 1972.
- Mickelson, Sig. From Whistlestop to Sound Bite: Four Decades of
Politics and television. New York: Praeger, 1989.
- Mitchell, Michelle. A New Kind of Party Animal: How the
Young Are Tearing Up the American Political Landscape. Simon
and Schuster: New York, 1998. (Com 450 Politics and Media, Com
310) While I haven't read this one myself, it comes highly recommended
by several of my Politics and Media students. It offers and encouraging
perspective and an inside look at campaigns.
- Newman, Bruce. The Mass Marketing of
Politics: Democracy in an Age of Manufactured Images. Sage, 1999.
- Nimmo, Dan and James Combs. Mediated
Political Realities, 2nd ed. Longman, 1990.
- Nixon, Richard. Memoirs of Richard Nixon. New
York: Gossett and DUnlap, 1978.
- Norris, Pippa. Women, Media and
Politics. Oxford, 1997.
- Patterson, Thomas E. Out
of Order. Vintage: New York, 1994, ISBN: 0-679-75510-1 .
Com 450 Politics and Media; Com 310. This is an absolutely outstanding
look at media and politics in this country. It's out of print,
so if you find a copy anywhere for sale (at a discount) I'll
reimburse you and we'll put it in the library.
- Postman, Neil. How to Watch
Television News. New York: Penguin, 1992.
- Rather, Dan. The Camera Never Blinks. This is the
first autobiography of Dan Rather and tells how he got into the
TV news business. It's an interesting and informative book. While
out of print at this time, you might be able to find it in a
public library and there should be a copy in Collier.
- Rather, Dan. The Camera Never Blinks Twice. 1994
0-688-09748-0 Morrow (Com 316, Com 310, Com 380, TV Apprec.)
- Rose, Tom. Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created
the World's Biggest Non-Event. (Com 310, 314, 316) This
is one of my favorite books! It's surprising, funny and very
revealing about television news, agenda setting and those whales
trapped by ice in the Artic
- Rosen, Jay. What Are Journalists
For? Yale U. Press. 1999.
- Rosteck. See It Now Confronts McCarthyism: Television
Documentary and the Politics of Representation.(Com 316,
TV Apprec.; Politics and Media)
- Sabato, Larry J. Feeding Frenzy: How Attack Journalism
Has Transformed American Politics. Free Press: New York,
1993. (Com 310, 316, 450 Politics and Media) This book received
a lot of publicity when the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal broke, and
Mr. Sabato was interviewed on a number of news programs. It is
a fascinating account of media accounts of scandals and how and
why the frenzy occurs. This is an absolute must read for anyone
interested in broadcast journalism or political coverage. It's
a good read and the 1998 Politics and Media students who read
it really liked it. I'm looking for a new edition to come out
before long.
- Sabato, Larry J. Peep Show: Media and Politics in an Age of Scandal.
(Rowman & Littlefield, 2000)
- Sabato, Larry. When Should theWatchdogs Bark: Media Coverage of
the clinton Scandals. Washington, Center for Media and
Public Affiars, 1994.
- Safer, Morley, Flashbacks: On Returning to Vietnam. Random
House: New York, 1990 (Com 316, Com 310, Com 380, TV Apprec.)
Excellent book about news and reporting during the Viet Nam War.
Students have enjoyed this one a lot.
- Salzman, Jason. Making the
News: A Guide for Non-Profit Activists. Westview: Boulder,
CO, 1998. ISBN 0-8333-6898-7. I haven't had a chance to read
this one yet, but it looks really good. It covers a lot of things
we discuss in Com 340, 310 and persuasion. It would also be an
excellent choice of for PR majors because it deals with how to
get on the media agenda.
- Salant, Richard. Salant, CBS, and
the Battle for the Soul of the Broadcast Journalism: The Memoirs of Richard
J. Salant. Westview Press: Boulder, CO, 1999.
- Scheurer, Jeffrey. The Sound Bite
Society: Television and the American Mind. Four Wall Eight Windows,
1999. This book has some great observations, and while I don't agree
with everything in it, it's definitely worth the read. It would also
be good for TV Crit or Ethics courses.
- Schudson, Michael. Watergate in American
Memory. Basic Books, 1992.
- Schwartz, Tony. The Responsive
Chord. Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1973. This book is written by
one of the "greats" and focuses on the media as a persuasive tool
in the 1960s campaigns. Excellent. Background on "Daisy
Spot."
- Slayden, David and Rita Whillock, eds. Soundbite Cutlure:
The Death of Discourse in a Wired World. Thousand Oaks: Sage,
1998.
- Smith, Perry. How CNN Fought the War: A View From the
Inside. paper 12.95 ISBN 1-55972-090-5 Birch Ln. Pr. (Com
316, Com 310, Com 380, TV Apprec.) Students have read and enjoyed
this one too. Very interesting perspective on reporting of the
Gulf War.
- Smith, Jeffery A. War and Press Freedom: The Problem of Prerogative
Power. New York: Oxford, 1999.
- Stahl, Leslie. Reporting Live. New York: Touchstone, 1999.
- Stark, Steven. Glued to the Set: The 60 Television Shows
and Events that Made us Who We Are Today. Free Press: New
York, 1998. This is an outstanding book which provides information
on the key shows as well as a discussion of their impact on the
culture. Absolutely MUST reading for any RTF major. Required
reading in Com 340. Extra credit reading in any course (as long
as you have NOT had Com 340).
- Starker, Steven. Evil Influences: Crusades Against Mass
Media. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1991. Com
340, 310. This is an excellent book recounting the history of
criticisms against media. You may not have realized that some
of the novels you are required to read in your lit courses were
feared to be corrupters of the society. Nor may you know the
hazards of radio, comic books and even newspapers themselves. Fascinating account. ISBN 0-88738-275-4.
- Streitmatter, Rodger. Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media
Have Shaped American History. Westview Press: Boulder,
1998.
- Thomas, Helen. Front Row at the White House: My Life and
Times. New York: Scribbner, 1999.
- Turell, David . Government by Political Spin. (2000)
- Thompson, Hunter. Better than
Sex. isbn# 0-345-39639-9 This is an unorthodox look at the
1992 campaign an editor of Rolling Stone.
- West, Darrell M. Air Wars:
Television Advertising in Election Campaigns. (1997)
- Witcover, Jules. No Way to Pick a President. (1999)
- White, Theordore. American in Search of Itself: The Making
of the President, 1956-1980. Harper and Row, 1982.
- White, Theordore. Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon.
New York: Atheneium Publishers, 1975.
- White, Theodore. The Making of the President, 1960.
New York: Atheneum, 1961.
- White, Theodore. The Making of the President, 1964. New
York: Atheneum, 1965.
- White, Theodore. The Making of the President, 1968.
New York: Atheneum, 1973
- Williams, Juan. Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years,
1954-1965. New York: Viking, 1987.
- Winter, Ralph. Watergate and the Law: Political Campaigns and
Presidential Power. Washington: American Enterprise Institute for
Public Policy Research, 1974.
- Woodward, Bob. Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of
Watergate 1974-1999.
- Zelzer, Barbie. Covering the Body: The Kennedy Assassination, the
Media and the Shaping of the Collective Memory. Chicago University
Press, 1992.
Also, don't forget to check at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com
for additional or new titles. I just spent two hours searching
for new books on these sites. Do a search under television, broadcasting,
radio, media law, media ethics......You'll find really large selections,
descriptions and discounts on the books. As I receive or examine
the books I found, I will add them to this list.
This book list is under construction.
Last updated 11/10/00
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Copyright, 2000 Janet McMullen
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