Media Matters: Race and Gender in U.S. Politics

by John Fiske

Detailing the eroding line between "real" and "media" events, Fiske explores the media's treatment of the O. J. Simpson arrest and pretrial hearings, the L.A. uprisings, the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings, and the "family values" debate between Dan Quayle and Murphy Brown. He illustrates how African Americans, Korean Americans, Latinos, and women have succeeded in making their hitherto unheard voices heard and have influenced the nation's reaction to media events such as these. Fiske also analyzes speeches by George Bush, Dan Quayle, and Pat Buchanan, along with media commentary by Rush Limbaugh and CNN's Greg LaMotte, to reveal what Americans successfully rejected in ushering out the Reagan era. Through his analysis of the contradictory and diverse voices that make up U.S. culture, Fiske traces the nation's swing away from Reaganism and offers urgent warnings for the future.

320 pages, Paperback

Published March 6, 1996

About the author

John Fiske (born 1939) is a media scholar who has taught around the world. He was a Professor of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His areas of interest include cultural studies, popular culture, media semiotics and television studies. He is the author of eight books, including Power Plays, Power Works (1993), Understanding Popular Culture (1989), Reading the Popular (1989), and the influential Television Culture (1987). Fiske also acts as a media critic, examining how cultural meaning is created in American society, and how debates over issues such as race are handled in different media. In May 2008, Fiske received an Honorary Degree from the University of Antwerp.

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very focused, in-depth discussion of race and media between 1991 and 1994, including Anita Hill, Rodney King and the LA riots, AIDs policies, the Dan Quayle/Murphy Brown "family values" debate, and the Clintons, with an epilogue on OJ Simpson. Draws heavily on Foucault's ideas on surveillance and discourse.