Remote And Controlled: Media Politics In A Cynical Age, Second Edition / Edition 2

by Matthew Robert Kerbel

Overview

Remote and Controlled examines the issue of widespread cynicism in an era of abundant information, asking whether it is possible to consume a steady diet of mainstream media and still understand and respect the political process. Starting with central examples of television's political coverage and the media's focus on the president, the author explores a variety of media—from newspapers and radio to MTV and computer networks—and political events and institutions. Against a historical backdrop of political, technological, and institutional change, the text raises critical questions for a society plugged into Rush, Oprah, and USA Today: How do the media both magnify and undermine the president? Can televised town meetings replace the real thing? How do politicians seek to control the flow of information, and what do the media do about it? Does the information explosion provide greater diversity or simply greater convenience? The second edition of this acclaimed text has been revised and updated to examine media coverage of recent events such as the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In the process, the author sheds light on the ultimate dilemma of whether an informed public will participate in a system in which campaigns are portrayed as if they were war, policymaking is depicted as if it were a campaign, and none of the participants—reporters included—appear particularly noble or worthy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813368696
Publisher:	Westview Press
Publication date:	12/04/1998
Series:	Dilemmas in American Politics Series
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	190
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1380L (what's this?)

About the Author

Matthew R. Kerbel has been writing about the news media ever since he stopped writing for the news media. A one-time radio and television newswriter and employee of Public Broadcasting, he is author of three books on television and politics, and is professor of political science at Villanova University. He lives in Wayne, PA with his wife Adrienne and his daughter Gabrielle.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments — Introduction: Under the President’s Clothes — Two Hundred Years of Politics and Reporting — A War of Words: Coverage of Politics and the Politics of Coverage — Presidential Governance and Other Fantasies — What About Us? — Discussion Questions

Editorial Reviews

. . . renowned cultural critic and blog-fiasco creator Lee Siegel turns his sharp wit on the tube with this collection of essays.

Times Out Chicago

His is commentary that the world's most powerful medium deserves.

Buffalo News

Siegel's feisty writing makes for a provocative read. He writes with refreshingly little regard to fashion or reputation, and does not shy from strong opinions.

Financial Times

Siegel is a judicious observer of television as a tributary flowing into the ocean of mass American culture

Boston Globe

Siegel's pugnacious elegance runs through this collection of TV reviews for the Nation . . .

The Guardian

. . . [Siegel] explores television's use as a lens through which to look at history, human nature, and American culture, you're going to find yourself surfing TV in a new and thrilling way, as Siegel ducks, bobs, and slaloms from concept to concept, tying together themes that seem unlikely to have many points of contact in common, and yet that snap together like puzzle pieces in Siegel's hands.

Edge