Relations between the press and politicians in modern America have always been contentious. In The Press Gang , Mark Summers tells the story of the first skirmishes in this ongoing battle. Following the Civil War, independent newspapers began to separate themselves from partisan control and assert direct political influence. The first investigative journalists uncovered genuine scandals such as those involving the Tweed Ring, but their standard practices were often sensational, as editors and reporters made their reputations by destroying political figures, not by carefully uncovering the facts. Objectivity as a professional standard scarcely existed. Considering more than ninety different papers, Summers analyzes not only what the press wrote but also what they chose not to write, and he details both how they got the stories and what mistakes they made in reporting them. He exposes the peculiarly ambivalent relationship of dependence and distaste among reporters and politicians. In exploring the shifting ground between writing the stories and making the news, Summers offers an important contribution to the history of journalism and mid-nineteenth-century politics and uncovers a story that has come to dominate our understanding of government and the media.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
The University of North Carolina Press
ISBN-13
9780807844465
eBay Product ID (ePID)
96285960
Product Key Features
Author
Mark Wahlgren Summers
Publication Name
The Press Gang: Newspapers and Politics, 1865-1878
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
History
Publication Year
1994
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
424 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
235mm
Item Width
156mm
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Mark Wahlgren Summers
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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