Summary
The news media is a 24-hour presence, endlessly pumping images and information through the air, beaming it down from space, transmitting it through cables and phone lines across the Internet. Out of this torrent of information, all delivered in about the same tone of importance, it is sometimes difficult to sift through and determine what really is significant. From newspapers and magazines to radios, televisions, and the Internet, today's consumers often rely on the news media for unbiased, reliable information on current events. However, the news media is an industry that does much more than report the facts; it is also used to generate publicity, shape public opinion, and sell its audience on just about anything from political parties to social values to the branded media outlets themselves.
Power of the News Media helps readers understand the function of the news media, how it shapes attitudes, and how to evaluate its content. This important volume provides a useful tool for librarians, teachers, and others concerned with education and media issues. Providing a variety of perspectives and drawing on books, articles, and Internet sources, it is an ideal starting place for research.
Coverage includes:
- An overview of the news media's development, from early popular newspapers to today's high-tech websites
- News media data and industry trends
- Excerpts from New York Times v. Sullivan and New York Times Co. v. United States.
Specifications
Index. Appendixes. Bibliography. Glossary. Chronology.
About the Author(s)
Harry Henderson is a graduate of the University of California. For the past 20 years, he has been a professional writer and editor specializing in technical and nonfiction writing for adults, as well as scientific, biographical, and historical material for junior high and high school readers. Among his numerous publications are Privacy in the Information Age; Gun Control; Capital Punishment, Revised Edition; Terrorist Challenge to America; Campaign and Election Reform; and Global Terrorism, Revised Edition, all of which are volumes in the Library in a Book series.