Columns to Characters: The Presidency and the Press Enter the Digital Age

by Stephanie A. Martin (Editor), David Demarest, Roderick P Hart, Thomas M. DeFrank, Stephen A Smith

Overview

The relationship between the presidency and the press has transformed—seemingly overnight—from one where reports and columns were filed, edited, and deliberated for hours before publication into a brave new world where texts, tweets, and sound bites race from composition to release within a matter of seconds. This change, which has ultimately made political journalism both more open and more difficult, brings about many questions, but perhaps the two most important are these: Are the hard questions still being asked? Are they still being answered?

In Columns to Characters, Stephanie A. Martin and top scholars and journalists offer a fresh perspective on how the evolution of technology affects the way presidents interact with the public. From Bill Clinton’s saxophone playing on the Arsenio Hall Show to Barack Obama’s skillful use of YouTube, Twitter, and Reddit as the first “social media president,” political communication appears to reflect the increasing fragmentation of the American public.

The accessible essays here explore these implications in a variety of real-world circumstances: the “narcotizing” numbness of information overload and voter apathy; the concerns over privacy, security, and civil liberties; new methods of running political campaigns and mobilizing support for programs; and a future “post-rhetorical presidency” in which the press is all but irrelevant. Each section of the book concludes with a “reality check,” a short reflection by a working journalist (or, in one case, a former White House insider) on the presidential beat.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623495633
Publisher:	Texas A&M University Press
Publication date:	03/05/2018
Series:	Kenneth E. Montague Presidential Rhetoric Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	294
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

STEPHANIE A. MARTIN is an assistant professor in the department of communication and public affairs at Southern Methodist University.

Table of Contents

Foreword Peter Baker vii

On Trump xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction xix

Part 1 Presidents, the Press, and the Times That Have Made Them 1

Chapter 1 The Mediums That Matter Presidential Press Relationships and How Chief Executives Respond to Shifting Technological Tides Martha Joynt Kumar 3

Chapter 2 Revisiting Narcotizing Dysfunction New Media, Interactivity, and Rapid Response in Presidential Communication Rita Kirk 25

Reality Check: Ch-ch-ch-changes? David Demarest 50

Part 2 Presidents, People, and the Art of Expression 55

Chapter 3 The Press and the Presidency in Contrast A Language Analysis Roderick P. Hart 57

Chapter 4 Speaking of the Economy Transformational Presidents, New Media Strategies, and the Necessity of a Universal Audience Stephanie A. Martin 86

Reality Check: Dinosaurs, Dimes, and the Digital Age Thomas Defrank 113

Part 3 Information mid Its Discontents 117

Chapter 5 Technological Transformations and Timeless Truths The Press and the Presidency in a Social Media Age Stephen A. Smith 119

Chapter 6 Keeping It Classified? Reportorial Privilege and Presidential Stonewalling in a Time of Terror Tony Pederson 147

Reality Check: The Legacy Press-Nobody Does It Better Robert W. Wong 172

Part 4 Everything Old Is New Again 175

Chapter 7 Organizing for (In)Action The Obama Presidency and the Vanishing Hope of an Online Vanguard George C. Edwards III 177

Chapter 8 Ignoring the President Barack Ohama and, the Postrhetorical Presidency Jennifer R. Mercieca 206

Reality Check: Mr. President, We Have a Few Questions Stacia Deshishku 231

Afterword Jon Meacham 235

Contributors 239

Index 241

Interviews

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