Description
Book SynopsisTraces the dwindling of public trust in the news and shows how people pay less attention to it than they once did. The author argues that the news media's influence over public opinion has decreased considerably as a result, and so has the president's ability to influence the public through the news media.
Trade Review"Cohen has constructed a revised and refined version of the 'presidential news system' (the president, the news media, and the mass public) paradigm. He argues that as the 'golden age of television' evolved into the age of the new media in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a growing disconnect between the news and presidential support (approval) became apparent. Thoroughly grounded in political communication theory, this book is an excellent read on changes in presidential governance."--W. K. Hall, Choice "Theoretically, the book provides an important contribution... Methodologically, it ... enables the reader to gain a broad overview of basic literature and research collated in a single book... The book is a good resource."--Pinar Sayan, In-Spire Journal of Law, Politics, and Societies "This is an audacious attempt to provide an empirically based interpretation of the impact of a changing media environment on the power of the American presidency. In just over 200 pages Cohen develops a complex and multifaceted argument that should be widely read by students of American politics and of the interface between the media and politics more broadly."--Robin Brown, Political Studies Review "The Presidency in the Era of 24-Hour News stands as a welcome addition to the literature, particularly appropriate for assignment to upper-division courses on the presidency. Furthermore, Cohen's book belongs in an elite class of public presidency scholarship from this decade ... that merit mandatory inclusion on graduate presidential politics seminar syllabi."--Justin S. Vaughn, Political Science Quarterly "[I]f Cohen does not find empirical resolution to the puzzles of the presidential news system, he does the next best thing by skillfully illuminating important targets of inquiry for future research. For this he is to be commended, and The Presidency in the Era of 24-Hour News deserves a wide audience."--Glenn W Richardson, Presidential Studies Quarterly
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations vii List of Tables ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii CHAPTER 1: The Growing Disconnect between Presidential News Coverage and Public Opinion 1 CHAPTER 2: The Presidential News System during the Golden Age of Presidential Television 18 CHAPTER 3: The New Media Age and the Decline in Presidential News 49 CHAPTER 4: Change in Presidential News over the Long Haul: The New York Times Historical Series, 1857-1998 71 CHAPTER 5: The Increasing Negativity in Presidential News in the Age of New Media 89 CHAPTER 6: Sources of Negativity in Presidential News during the Age of New Media 107 CHAPTER 7: The Declining Audience for News and the New Media Age 135 CHAPTER 8: Declining Trust in the News Media and the New Media Age 160 CHAPTER 9: The Implications of the New Media on the Presidential News System and Presidential Leadership 175 CHAPTER 10: Conclusions: The New Media, the Presidency, and American Politics 201 Notes 209 Bibliography 233 Index 251
