The Political Pundits

by James E. Combs, Dan Nimmo

Overview

The Political Pundits surveys in detail the small, elite group of persons who comment on and analyze politics in newspapers and newsmagazines, on radio and television, through lectures, books, and all other forms of political media. Dan Nimmo and James E. Combs discuss the key political role pundits play, their methods and strategies, and the potential danger they present to American political life. Our democracy is being transformed into a punditocracy, which replaces serious citizen debate with discussion guided by show business values. Punditry, Nimmo and Combs argue, produces symbolic rather than effective healing of political ills, political paternalism rather than political reflection, and, in the end, public disenchantment with politics.

The authors conclude that pundits should not be taken too seriously, and approach their outpourings using a comic, or bardic, framework. In Part One, the discussion focuses on four generic types of pundits: Priests, Bards, Sages, and Oracles. Part Two identifies three pundit roles: as technicians, as members of the Chattering Class, and as media critics. Each chapter provides examples, cases, and profiles to demonstrate the dominance of punditry. The Political Pundits challenges the generally accepted view that learned and informed public discussion in politics provides an adequate forum for informing and involving citizens. Scholars and students of political science and communications will find the role of the pundits demystified—the curtain pulled back to reveal the wizards.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275935450
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/21/1992
Series:	Praeger Series in Political Communication Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.46(d)
Lexile:	1320L (what's this?)

About the Author

DAN NIMMO is Visiting Scholar, Department of Political Science, Baylor University. He was formerly Professor of Communication at the University of Oklahoma. He has authored or co-authored more than 25 books, including, with James E. Combs, Mediated Political Realities, Subliminal Politics, and A Primer of Politics. He also co-authored, with Larry David Smith, Cordial Concurrence: Orchestrating National Party Conventions in the Telepolitical Age (Praeger, 1991).

JAMES E. COMBS is Professor of Political Science at Valparaiso University. He has authored or co-authored ten books and numerous scholarly articles.

Table of Contents

Preface
Foreword by Robert E. Denton, Jr.
Introduction: From Delphi to Democracy: The Sources of Punditry
Traditions of Political Punditry
The Priestly Caste: Speaking of, with, and for Political Elites
The Bardic Tradition in Political Punditry: Speaking of, to, and for the Populace
Sages and Oracles: The Pundits of the Larger View
Current Trends in Political Punditry
The Technician as Pundit: Campaign and Policy Experts
The Chattering Pundits: Talk TV and Radio
The Critical Eye: Mediating the Realities of Mediated Politics
Conclusion: Democracy or Punditocracy?
Bibliography
Index