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The Political Pundits »

Authors: Dan Nimmo, James E. Combs
ISBN-13: 9780275935412, ISBN-10: 0275935418
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated
Date Published: May 1992
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Author Biography: Dan Nimmo

DAN NIMMO is Visiting Scholar, Department of Political Science, Baylor University. He was formerly Professor of Communication at the University of Oklahoma. He has authored or co-authored more than 25 books, including, with James E. Combs, Mediated Political Realities, Subliminal Politics, and A Primer of Politics. He also co-authored, with Larry David Smith, Cordial Concurrence: Orchestrating National Party Conventions in the Telepolitical Age (Praeger, 1991).

JAMES E. COMBS is Professor of Political Science at Valparaiso University.

Book Synopsis

Nimmo and Combs discuss the key role political analysts play, their methods and strategies, and the potential danger they pose to American democracy by transforming it into a "punditocracy" which replaces serious citizen debate with discussion guided by show business values.

	About the Series
	Foreword
	Preface
	Introduction: From Delphi to Democracy, the Sources of Punditry	1
	Towers of Babel	2
	From Babel to Punditry	4
	The Heritage of Pundits' Authority	8
	From Itinerant Instructor to Media Pundit	11
	The Fifth Estate: Punditry on Punditry?	20
Pt. I	Traditions of Political Punditry	21
1	The Priestly Caste: Speaking of, with, and for Political Elites	23
	The Priestly Muse	25
	From Priestly Sound Ideas to Priestly Sound Bites	28
	Conclusion: Prophets with and without Honor	45
2	The Bardic Tradition in Political Punditry: Speaking of, to, and for the Populace	49
	The Humorous and Comic Muse in Bardic Punditry	50
	Bardic Gossip and Politics in Print and on Radio	58
	Bardic Punditry in Contemporary Politics	65
	Conclusion: The Magic of the Bardic Song	73
3	Sages and Oracles: The Pundits of the Larger View	75
	The Sagacious Muse in Politics	75
	The Oracular Sage: A Pundit for all Seasons	87
	Conclusion: Back to the Future Via a Return to Delphi	93
Pt. II	Current Trends in Political Punditry	95
4	The Technician as Pundit: Campaign and Policy Experts	97
	The Punditry of Technique	98
	Campaign Technicians	100
	Policy Technicians	106
	Conclusion: The Centrist Dragon of La Technique of Punditry	115
5	The Chattering Pundits: Talk TV and Radio	119
	Visible and Invisible Pundits: Talk Shows on TV	120
	"Everyman, Dial 1-800-PUNDITS": Talk Radio	129
	Conclusion: "Then You Shouldn't Talk?"	139
6	The Critical Eye: Mediating the Realities of Mediated Politics	141
	Roles and Types of Media Critics	142
	Is the Political Picture Moral? The Critic as Constable	144
	Is the Political Picture Art? The Critic as Artist	153
	Is the Political Picture Fulfilling? The Critic as Cultural Psychologist	155
	Is the Political Picture Representative? The Critic as Social Scientist	159
	Conclusion: Orders of Mediated Politics	162
7	Conclusion: Democracy or Punditocracy?	165
	The Death or Triumph of Punditry?	166
	Is Laughter the Best Medicine? Pricking the Bubble of the Pundit's Pride	174
	Bibliography	177
	Index	185

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The Political Pundits »

Author Biography: Dan Nimmo

Book Synopsis

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