In this completely revised and updated edition (including eight new chapters), Jeffrey Jones charts the evolution and maturation of political entertainment television by examining The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Politically Incorrect/Real Time with Bill Maher, and Michael Moore's TV Nation and The Awful Truth. This volume investigates how and why these shows have been central locations for the critique of political and economic power and an important resource for citizens during numerous political crises. In an age of Truthiness, fake news and humorous political talk have proven themselves viable forms of alternative reporting and critical means for ascertaining truth, and in the process, questioning the legitimacy of news media's role as the primary mediator of political life. The book also addresses the persistent claims that these programs have cynical effects and create misinformed young citizens, demonstrating instead how such programming provides for an informed, active, and meaningful citizenship. The new edition takes account of the many changes that have occurred in television and political culture since Entertaining Politics' initial release.
Jeffrey P. Jones is associate professor of communication at Old Dominion University.
Table of Contents
Part 1 Part I: Television and Politics TodayChapter 2 The Changing Face of Politics on TelevisionChapter 3 Rethinking Television's Relationship to Civic EngagementPart 4 Part II: Entertaining Political TalkChapter 5 From Insiders to Outsiders: The Transformation of Political Talk on TelevisionChapter 6 New Political Television: Questioning News Media's Regime of TruthChapter 7 The Competing Senses of Political Insiders and OutsidersChapter 8 Changing the Conversation: The Daily Show's Interviews and InterrogationsPart 9 Part III: Faking it (For Real) in News and TalkChapter 10 Muckraking Through Fake Newsmagazines: Michael Moore's Satire TVChapter 11 Fake News vs. Real News: The Case of The Daily Show and CNNChapter 12 Faux Real and Faux Play: The Parody of Punditry in The Colbert ReportPart 13 Part IV: Audiences / Fans / CitizensChapter 14 Viewer Engagement Beyond Information Acquisition: Celebrity, Talk, and PlayChapter 15 The Expanding and Contested Boundaries of New Political TelevisionChapter 16 Appendix: Methodology for Audience Research