The latest addition to the "Media and Society Series," "Meanings of the Medium" takes a new approach to the study of the past, present, and future of television. Most of its authors are not media experts but literary critics, philosophers, rhetoricians, and historians. They use their unique skills to examine three interwoven themes: the origin and meaning of American attitudes toward television, the relationship between high art and television's popular art, and the relationship between particular kinds of programs and the audience's sensibilities. Stressing an aesthetic and historical...

This volume chronicles the 60-year history of presidential and opposition access to network television. The system has brought unprecedented exposure to twentieth century presidents but has discriminated consistently against the opposition in Congress. Networks instead have placed themselves in the role of loyal opposition, operating as the President's counterpoint. In decline, hurt by defecting audiences and advertisers, the network system is now struggling to survive into the next century. The author envisions a new order which will have a profound effect on both political communication...

In this study of many mainstream newspapers, Roy Edward Lotz investigates the ample space American papers devote to crime. He also examines the justifications and criticisms this phenomenon has generated. Lotz finds that 30 percent of the front-page stories contain tales of police, courts, and criminals. He concludes that crime reporting neither serves the functions nor has the negative effects that are often attributed to it.

Lotz discusses the functions and dysfunctions of crime reporting, the ideological biases of crime news, and the balance between coverage of explosive events and...

George Bush's critics charge the president with paying undue attention to opinion polls, focusing on symbol rather than substance, and allowing the nation to drift at a time that loudly demands leadership. In response, Mr. Bush's defenders applaud him for his prudence in the face of international instability, his resolution in the face of Iraqi aggression, and his realistic approach to national problems. Each chapter of Leadership and the Bush Presidency addresses these issues with specific regard to the upcoming presidential election, the potential for governance in a second term, and the...