The Sound Bite Society: How Television Helps the Right and Hurts the Left

by Jeffrey Scheuer

It was once said that all politics is local. But today, all politics is televisual. Candidates spend millions on TV ads. Most people get their news from TV's sound bites. Television doesn't just affect politics--it is politics. But how does that mega-medium shape our political ideas and values? In THE SOUND BITE SOCIETY, Jeffrey Scheuer argues that the rise of television is directly linked to the decline of the American left and the ascent of the Electronic Right. Political argument has been simplified to quick, telegraphic TV sound bites which, he argues, inherently favor the right wing. Television's visual and rhetorical conventions are biased toward simplicity, Scheuer argues, making it the perfect vehicle for conservative messages advocating a simpler society and smaller government. Web www.thesoundbitesociety.com

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why does tv favor conservative ideas? What are the characteristics of the medium that prevent discussion of anything complicated? How has tv driven our politics the past 40 years?
Well worth reading if these questions interest you...

[Kelsey]

Again - for a paper but good info!