Given how the media portray the political system, how can we educate ourselves about politics without feeling alienated? The amount of information now available to the public about government is without precedent, and contemporary media bring the political action closer than ever before. But in an age when reports on the manipulative behavior and c

There is a big cohort of passionate, smart, politically savvy activists people who know how to organize, raise money, communicate and effectively utilize technology and new media who have come into politics within the last decade who feel like their strategies have been effective but their voices are not being heard. If these voices are ignored by the Democratic establishment, we could lose not only all the resources they bring to the Democratic Party, but could well lose the opening we have for a long-term Democratic majority. -Mike Lux, Open Left, September 14, 2007, quoted in Chapter 1The progressive netroots, fueled by bloggers writing on websites like the "Daily Kos" and working through online organizations like MoveOn, are on the verge of spearheading a revolution that may well define the coming political era. Still, their purpose, goals, and track record remain largely misunderstood. This book provides an understanding of the loosely affiliated groups that collectively call themselves the progressive netroots: who they are, what they hope to accomplish, what they ve done so far and how likely it is they will succeed in a plan so audacious it would result, if realized, in the transformation of America from a television-focused, center-right nation to an Internet-focused, center-left nation. "Netroots" weaves together a range of evidence and arguments to shatter conventional myths about this online movement. It explains why the left is better positioned than the right to take advantage of the decentralized nature of the Internet. As progressive candidates make uneven progress toward winning elections, the progressive netroots are working to drive media narratives and building real and virtual communities of activists that will contribute strongly to electoral success. "Netroots" documents the achievements of this emerging political force through an engaging analysis told with an eye toward history and in the bloggers own words.Read Matthew Kerbel's Commentary seen in "Political Communication Newsletter" Commentary"

There is a big cohort of passionate, smart, politically savvy activists people who know how to organize, raise money, communicate and effectively utilize technology and new media who have come into politics within the last decade who feel like their strategies have been effective but their voices are not being heard. If these voices are ignored by the Democratic establishment, we could lose not only all the resources they bring to the Democratic Party, but could well lose the opening we have for a long-term Democratic majority. -Mike Lux, Open Left, September 14, 2007, quoted in Chapter 1The progressive netroots, fueled by bloggers writing on websites like the "Daily Kos" and working through online organizations like MoveOn, are on the verge of spearheading a revolution that may well define the coming political era. Still, their purpose, goals, and track record remain largely misunderstood. This book provides an understanding of the loosely affiliated groups that collectively call themselves the progressive netroots: who they are, what they hope to accomplish, what they ve done so far and how likely it is they will succeed in a plan so audacious it would result, if realized, in the transformation of America from a television-focused, center-right nation to an Internet-focused, center-left nation. "Netroots" weaves together a range of evidence and arguments to shatter conventional myths about this online movement. It explains why the left is better positioned than the right to take advantage of the decentralized nature of the Internet. As progressive candidates make uneven progress toward winning elections, the progressive netroots are working to drive media narratives and building real and virtual communities of activists that will contribute strongly to electoral success. "Netroots" documents the achievements of this emerging political force through an engaging analysis told with an eye toward history and in the bloggers own words.Read Matthew Kerbel's Commentary seen in "Political Communication Newsletter" Commentary"

You've been watching television news forever. You're intimately familiar with the friendly faces and soothing voices that nightly tell you what's wrong with the world. You think you know everything there is to know about them. You're wrong.If It Bleeds, It Leads takes us minute-by-minute through two-and-one-half real hours of syndicated, local, and network information programming to uncover the truth behind what passes as news. Why is the only real difference between Jerry Springer and Dan Rather that Dan's guests usually don't need medical attention? How did a load of baking powder spark two minutes of high-strung local news coverage? It's all here: the personal revelations of talk show guests; the dangers lurking in your neighborhood; sports; sex; celebrity; power; and weather updates every ten minutes--all real material taken from real broadcasts designed to keep viewers glued to the screen.

Sleep-deprived reporters. Spin doctors. Deadlines. All constants in the world of television election reporting. But do they alone explain why television coverage of the 1992 presidential campaign looked the same night after night across the broadcast/cable media divide? Matthew Robert Kerbel says no, pointing instead to the shared interests and perspectives of news workers that bridge network differences. Edited for Television explores those common orientations as it tells the story of the 1992 election in the voice of a one-time television newswriter and the media personnel he skillfully interviews. One of the first studies to compare cable news with its broadcast counterparts, Edited for Television is loaded with new insights into what gets covered and what gets left out as well as why and to what effect. At once a large-scale media election study and an examination of forces shaping television news, this book answers a host of provocative questions: Under what conditions will television pay more attention to the issues than to the "horserace"? What happened to coverage when Ross Perot redefined how a campaign is conducted? Why is it that cable and broadcast television devote so much air time to the interests and concerns of cable and broadcast television? For everyone concerned with the effect of the visual media on citizens and the political process, Edited for Television is a lively, informative account of how America's most recent bout with democracy appeared on the screen and behind the camera. Original data and election research are combined with engaging interviews of ABC and CNN personnel to produce a work of both scholarly and general interest.

This text is a real-time look at what happens on television, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the news broadcasts that provide information to millions of Americans. You've been watching television news forever. You're intimately familiar with the friendly faces and soothing voices that nightly tell you whats wrong with the world. You think you know everything there is to know about them. You're wrong. This volume shows you why. It takes you minute-by-minute through two-and-a-half riveting hours of syndicated, local, and network information programming to uncover the truth behind what passes as news. Why is the only real difference between Jerry Springer and Dan Rather that Dan's guests usually don't need medical attention? How did a load of baking powder spark two minutes of high-strung local news coverage? Its all here: the personal revelations of talk show guests; the dangers lurking in your neighbourhood; sports; sex; celebrity; power; and weather updates every ten minutes - all real material taken from real broadcasts combined into 150 minutes of the most electrifying newscast you've ever seen.

Given how the media portray the political system, how can we educate ourselves about politics without feeling alienated? The amount of information now available to the public about government is without precedent, and contemporary media bring the political action closer than ever before. But in an age when reports on the manipulative behavior and character flaws of public figures appear as frequently as coverage of policy issues, many people are tuning out."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. Both electoral politics and governance are explored through examples that range from FDR's fireside radio chats and the Kennedy-Nixon television debates to Vietnam and Watergate, on up to Clinton's war room, Perot's infomercials, C-SPAN and Congress, and the Monica Lewinsky scandal.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 including the Monica Lewinsky scandal and other high-profile stories. 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--appears particularly noble or worthy.