Although frequently attacked for their partisanship and undue political influence; the American media of today are objective and relatively ineffectual compared to their counterparts of two hundred years ago. From the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century; newspapers were the republic's central political institutions; working components of the party system rather than commentators on it. The Tyranny of Printers narrates the rise of this newspaper-based politics; in which editors became the chief party spokesmen and newspaper offices often served as local party headquarters. Beginning when Thomas Jefferson enlisted a Philadelphia editor to carry out his battle with Alexander Hamilton for the soul of the new republic (and got caught trying to cover it up); the centrality of newspapers in political life gained momentum after Jefferson's victory in 1800; which was widely credited to a superior network of papers. Jeffrey L. Pasley tells the rich story of this political culture and its culmination in Jacksonian democracy; enlivening his narrative with accounts of the colorful but often tragic careers of individual editors.
#987049 in Books 2012-10-24Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.06 x .65 x 6.07l; .84 #File Name: 0813553806232 pages
Review
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Sad; but probably a true portraitBy N. WThe book is written well; an excellent read. My problem with it is more the content / subject . Partly I can hardly blame the author; if the one and only way for American Jews dealing with xmas is gong to a cabaret/ chinese restaurant/ filling in for workers in health care ; etc; without doing anything positively Jewish during given days off; that is surely not his fault. Still; I did hope to see something turn up in analogy to Limmud (UK) ; which was born from the immense boredom the British Jews felt during Xmas :-). In a Jewish community as big as the one of the US nobody came up with such an initiative ? All synagogues/ temples/ jewish clubs are busy organizing their xmas committees??? A shame; and probably a missed chance; in my humble opinion.My only question is : is this true ; or does it exist and did the author not look for / ignore it ?0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A great idea; with great potentialBy Eric MazurThere's a lot of work to be done in this field. This is certainly a pretty good start. Read it.2 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A Kosher Christmas Required ReadingBy Charles H NaveThis is a fantastic explanation of the month of December for everyone Jewish; Do NOt MISS THIS FUN READ. jen
