BOOK
Farnsworth, Stephen J. and Robert Lichter. The Nightly News Nightmare: Media Coverage of U.S. Presidential
Elections, 1988-2008. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. Print.
The first author of this article, Dr. Stephen J. Farnsworth, is an assistant professor of communication at George Mason University, and also a former newspaper journalist for the Kansas City Star & Times. Dr. Farnsworth received a BA in history from the University of Missouri and a BA in government from Dartmouth College. He then went on to receive a PhD and MA in government from Georgetown University. Dr. Farnsworth has written four books on media and politics along with countless research articles on mass media, the presidency and US politics. In addition, this author has lectured about news media and elections all around the world, in places like Ukraine, Armenia and Lithuania.
The book’s second author, Robert Lichter, works with Dr. Farnsworth at George Mason University and is also a communications professor, as well as a director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs. Before he began teaching at George Mason, Dr. Lichter taught at Princeton, Georgetown and George Washington University and was even a Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale, a Senior Research Fellow at Columbia and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at Smith College. Dr. Lichter received his PhD in government from Harvard University and a BA from the University of Minnesota. He has co-authored fourteen books and hundreds of scholarly articles and is currently working on a book about foreign media coverage of the United States and the effects on politics.
The piece by Dr. Farnsworth and Dr. Lichter aims to examine news coverage of presidential nominations and elections from the year 1988 to 2008. They focus on the changes in amount and focus of news coverage during the different elections that took place throughout these years. Dr. Farnsworth and Dr. Lichter exam all types of media outlets, including online news, cable television and talk radio and, despite the wide variety of media availability, they are all consistent when it comes to problems regarding fairness and focus. The authors provide an extensive discussion of the 2008 presidential election and how the use of media and late night TV comedy affected campaigns.
Stephen J. Farnsworth and Robert Licther’s education alone makes them ideal authors for a book on the subject of media and presidential elections. Add in the amount of experience they’ve had teaching and lecturing about the subject and this makes them even more impressive. They have each written many different pieces on the topic and I believe they are more than qualified to write their piece, The Nightly News Nightmare: Media Coverage of U.S. Presidential Elections, 1988-2008.
Dr. Farnsworth and Dr. Lichter’s book contains exactly the kind of information that can be used for this topic, which is to study the effect that media has on the outcome of presidential elections. If interested in studying this effect over time, Dr. Farnsworth and Dr. Lichter’s piece is especially useful, given that it examines elections between 1988 and 2008. Although there were other useful texts that appeared when searching pieces on this subject, this book's particular focus on media and elections over past decades is really intriguing. The other books tended to focus on specific election years, or specific candidates. Farnsworth and Lichter’s piece was the only one discovered that touched on TV comedy’s effect on elections. This reading isn't particularly difficult but it’s definitely targeted towards an audience who is interested in examining media’s predominant role in various presidential elections.
Elections, 1988-2008. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. Print.
The first author of this article, Dr. Stephen J. Farnsworth, is an assistant professor of communication at George Mason University, and also a former newspaper journalist for the Kansas City Star & Times. Dr. Farnsworth received a BA in history from the University of Missouri and a BA in government from Dartmouth College. He then went on to receive a PhD and MA in government from Georgetown University. Dr. Farnsworth has written four books on media and politics along with countless research articles on mass media, the presidency and US politics. In addition, this author has lectured about news media and elections all around the world, in places like Ukraine, Armenia and Lithuania.
The book’s second author, Robert Lichter, works with Dr. Farnsworth at George Mason University and is also a communications professor, as well as a director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs. Before he began teaching at George Mason, Dr. Lichter taught at Princeton, Georgetown and George Washington University and was even a Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale, a Senior Research Fellow at Columbia and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at Smith College. Dr. Lichter received his PhD in government from Harvard University and a BA from the University of Minnesota. He has co-authored fourteen books and hundreds of scholarly articles and is currently working on a book about foreign media coverage of the United States and the effects on politics.
The piece by Dr. Farnsworth and Dr. Lichter aims to examine news coverage of presidential nominations and elections from the year 1988 to 2008. They focus on the changes in amount and focus of news coverage during the different elections that took place throughout these years. Dr. Farnsworth and Dr. Lichter exam all types of media outlets, including online news, cable television and talk radio and, despite the wide variety of media availability, they are all consistent when it comes to problems regarding fairness and focus. The authors provide an extensive discussion of the 2008 presidential election and how the use of media and late night TV comedy affected campaigns.
Stephen J. Farnsworth and Robert Licther’s education alone makes them ideal authors for a book on the subject of media and presidential elections. Add in the amount of experience they’ve had teaching and lecturing about the subject and this makes them even more impressive. They have each written many different pieces on the topic and I believe they are more than qualified to write their piece, The Nightly News Nightmare: Media Coverage of U.S. Presidential Elections, 1988-2008.
Dr. Farnsworth and Dr. Lichter’s book contains exactly the kind of information that can be used for this topic, which is to study the effect that media has on the outcome of presidential elections. If interested in studying this effect over time, Dr. Farnsworth and Dr. Lichter’s piece is especially useful, given that it examines elections between 1988 and 2008. Although there were other useful texts that appeared when searching pieces on this subject, this book's particular focus on media and elections over past decades is really intriguing. The other books tended to focus on specific election years, or specific candidates. Farnsworth and Lichter’s piece was the only one discovered that touched on TV comedy’s effect on elections. This reading isn't particularly difficult but it’s definitely targeted towards an audience who is interested in examining media’s predominant role in various presidential elections.
REFERENCE BOOK
Schaefer, Todd M., and Thomas A. Birkland. Encyclopedia of Media and Politics. Washington,
D.C.: CQ, 2007. Print.
Tom A. Birkland is an associate professor of public administration and policy at the University at Albany, States University of New York. Birkland received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Washington in 1995. Birkland’s work focuses more on how disasters change media and politics to determine what is perceived to be important topics. Birkland has numerous books and scholarly articles publications shining light on social media’s power on public opinions on a variety of topics. Like Birkland, Todd M. Schaefer is interested in how crises, such as the events of 9/11/01, are portrayed by the media, and their influence on politics and society.
The encyclopedia provides information on the relationship between media and politics and its role in democratic society. Similar to other sources in out bibliography, this reference book provides a broader perspective on our topic, rather than focusing on a specific issue. This reference would be helpful when wishing to describe the general correlation between media and politics. If one were hoping to focus on certain presidential campaign, other sources in our bibliography would be more helpful. The encyclopedia includes a bibliographical reference and index section, which would be beneficial when hoping to find other sources on a similar topic.
D.C.: CQ, 2007. Print.
Tom A. Birkland is an associate professor of public administration and policy at the University at Albany, States University of New York. Birkland received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Washington in 1995. Birkland’s work focuses more on how disasters change media and politics to determine what is perceived to be important topics. Birkland has numerous books and scholarly articles publications shining light on social media’s power on public opinions on a variety of topics. Like Birkland, Todd M. Schaefer is interested in how crises, such as the events of 9/11/01, are portrayed by the media, and their influence on politics and society.
The encyclopedia provides information on the relationship between media and politics and its role in democratic society. Similar to other sources in out bibliography, this reference book provides a broader perspective on our topic, rather than focusing on a specific issue. This reference would be helpful when wishing to describe the general correlation between media and politics. If one were hoping to focus on certain presidential campaign, other sources in our bibliography would be more helpful. The encyclopedia includes a bibliographical reference and index section, which would be beneficial when hoping to find other sources on a similar topic.