The Press in Times of Crisis

by Lloyd E. Chiasson

Overview

Throughout American history, the press has been incredibly adept at making the public aware. The history of the press in crisis situations is in many ways the story of public attitudes and the story of America. This book looks at the press over time and the way it has functioned in times of crisis. It considers press coverage of 13 events, spanning a time frame that includes the birth of the nation, its political, economic, and social struggles as a young country, and its civil war. It tells how a young agrarian society grew into an industrial giant, and how it changed from isolationist to a world power. It relates how this country coped with the growth of socialism, two world wars, civil unrest, and with the problem of world overpopulation.

The American press has performed various functions throughout the years. The Colonial Press served as a vehicle of discussion, debate, and finally agitation and, in the process, may have defined itself and laid a groundwork for the press's future roles. The press has agitated, advocated, and persuaded. It has been duped, it has been unfair, and it has misled. This volume considers such concepts as advocacy jourbanalism, a central theme of the chapters on abolitionists and David Duke, and social responsibility, a primary part of the chapter on Japanese-American internment. The press's attempt to lead public opinion is the focus of the chapters on the partisan press, the antebellum period, and the first Red Scare in 1919. The chapter on Joseph McCarthy looks at the concepts of objectivity and the use and misuse of pseudo news. The final chapter, on overpopulation, deals extensively with agenda setting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313293641
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/30/1995
Series:	Contributions to the Study of Mass Media and Communications , #48
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

LLOYD E. CHIASSON JR., is Professor of Mass Communication at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA. He is the coauthor of an interactive computer textbook, Reporter's Notebook (1993).

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Selling the American Revolution by Carol Sue Humphrey
Battle Without a Rule Book by Donald Avery
The Legislation of Prior Restraint by Donald Avery
Jourbanalism for God and Man by Bernell Tripp
Old Osawatomie Brown: Martyr or Madman by Lloyd E. Chiasson, Jr.
Words for War by Donald Reynolds
Jourbaney to Cuba: The Yellow Crisis by Gene Wiggins
Descent into Hell: The Red Crisis by Joseph McKerns
The Japanese-American Enigma by Lloyd E. Chiasson, Jr.
McCarthy's Jourbanalism by Lloyd E. Chiasson, Jr.
The Unraveling of America by Art Kaul
David Duke and The New Orleans Times-Picayune by Keith Woods
Population: The Once and Future Environmental Crisis by Mike Maher
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

Presents accounts of press coverage of 13 critical events in American history, from the Revolution ("Selling the American Revolution") into the 1990s ("David Duke and the New Orleans Times-Picayune") and even beyond ("Population: The Once and Future Environmental Crisis"). Extensive references. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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