Friday, January 30, 2009

Entertaining Politics

Remember how I always say that politics should be boring? That the real nuts and bolts of government are so serious and detailed that any excitement is nothing more than subtle or overt propaganda? Well, here's a book I'm going to add to my summer reading...

Contrary to arguments that television is detrimental to democracy, Entertaining Politics explores the role of new political television in shaping a changing civic culture. Jeffrey P. Jones shows how viewers understand and make use of the increasingly blurred lines between 'serious' and 'entertainment' programming and argues that alarmist critics who predict the end of politics in the age of television have misconstrued the role of the medium and the commitment of audiences to both TV and public life.

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