Soundbitten : The Perils of Media-Centered Political Activism / Sarah Sobieraj.
2011
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Details
Title
Soundbitten : The Perils of Media-Centered Political Activism / Sarah Sobieraj.
Author
Sobieraj, Sarah, author.
ISBN
9780814788585
Published
New York, NY : : New York University Press, [2011]
Copyright
©2011
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource
Other Standard Identifiers
10.18574/nyu/9780814788585.001.0001 doi
Dewey Decimal Classification
324.7/30973
Summary
There is an elaborate and often invisible carnival that emerges alongside presidential campaigns as innumerable activist groups attempt to press their issues into mainstream political discourse. Sarah Sobieraj's fascinating ethnographic portrait of fifty diverse organizations over the course of two campaign cycles reveals that while most activist groups equate political success with media success and channel their energies accordingly, their efforts fail to generate news coverage and come with deleterious consequences. Sobieraj shows that activists' impact on public political debates is minimal, and carefully unravels the ways in which their all-consuming media work and unrelenting public relations approach undermine their ability to communicate with pedestrians, comes at the expense of other political activities, and perhaps most perniciously, damages the groups themselves.Weaving together fieldwork, news analysis, and in-depth interviews with activists and journalists, Soundbitten illuminates the relationship between news and activist organizations. This captivating portrait of activism in the United States lays bare the challenges faced by outsiders struggling to be heard in a mass media dominated public sphere that proves exclusionary and shows that media-centrism is not only ineffective, but also damaging to group life. Soundbitten reveals why media-centered activism so often fails, what activist groups lose in the process, and why we should all be concerned.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
System Details Note
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Digital File Characteristics
text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 18. Sep 2023)
Available in Other Form
print 9780814741368
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Table of Contents
Frontmatter
Contents
Acknowledgments
1 What If the Whole World Isn't Watching?
2 Campaign Events as Catalysts
3 Streets as Stage
4 "Apparently They Don't Like Succinct and Articulate"
5 Wait, Isn't That a Bird in Your Hand?
6 What About Us?
Epilogue
Appendix
Notes
References
Index
About the Author
Contents
Acknowledgments
1 What If the Whole World Isn't Watching?
2 Campaign Events as Catalysts
3 Streets as Stage
4 "Apparently They Don't Like Succinct and Articulate"
5 Wait, Isn't That a Bird in Your Hand?
6 What About Us?
Epilogue
Appendix
Notes
References
Index
About the Author