From Cronkite to Colbert
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From Cronkite to Colbert by Geoffrey Baym
In a time when increasing numbers of people are tuning out the nightly news and media consumption is falling, the late-night comedians have become some of the most important newscasters in the country. From Cronkite to Colbert explains why. It examines an historical path that begins at the height of the network age with Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow, when the evening news was considered the authoritative record of the day's events and forged our assumptions about what the news is, or should be. The book then winds its way through the breakdown of that paradigm of real news and into its reinvention in the unlikely form of such popularized shows as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. From Cronkite to Colbert makes the case that rather than fake news, those shows should be understood as a new kind of journalism, one that has the potential to save the news and reinvigorate the conversation of democracy in today's society.
Geoffrey Baym is the Jon Stewart of journalism studies (though not as funny): If you want to see the emerging shape of television journalism, watch The Daily ShowIf you want to understand its roots, significance and potential for invigorating democracy, read From Cronkite to Colbert: The Evolution of Broadcast News. * Michael X. Delli Carpini, University of Pennsylvania *
How did a comedian whose show comes on after puppets making crank phone calls come to be seen as the chief advocate of a responsible democratic media? Geoffrey Baym offers an original and convincing interpretation of the historical significance of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and other practitioners of contemporary 'infotainment.' The result is a thought-provoking and important reflection on the transformation of television news and of American political discourse. * Dan Hallin, University of California, San Diego *
The story that Baym tells in From Cronkite to Colbert is essential reading, not just for scholars of journalism or popular culture but also for political communication effects scholars. For scholars trying to understand why Stewart and Colbert have become so relevant, Baym offers thoughtful and well-supported arguments. Baym's text is both undeniably important and eerily prescient. * Political Communication *
How did a comedian whose show comes on after puppets making crank phone calls come to be seen as the chief advocate of a responsible democratic media? Geoffrey Baym offers an original and convincing interpretation of the historical significance of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and other practitioners of contemporary 'infotainment.' The result is a thought-provoking and important reflection on the transformation of television news and of American political discourse. * Dan Hallin, University of California, San Diego *
The story that Baym tells in From Cronkite to Colbert is essential reading, not just for scholars of journalism or popular culture but also for political communication effects scholars. For scholars trying to understand why Stewart and Colbert have become so relevant, Baym offers thoughtful and well-supported arguments. Baym's text is both undeniably important and eerily prescient. * Political Communication *
Geoffrey Baym is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has written numerous journal articles and book chapters on the changing styles and standards of news media and political discourse. He has worked as a newswriter, reporter, and researcher for media outlets such as the CBS Network News, KSL Television in Salt Lake City, and the Tucson Citizen.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780199945849 |
| ISBN 10 | 0199945845 |
| Title | From Cronkite to Colbert |
| Author | Geoffrey Baym |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press Inc |
| Year published | 2009-01-15 |
| Number of pages | 204 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |