Covering America: A Narrative History of a Nation's Journalism [Hardcover]

Christopher B. Daly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2012

Today many believe that American journalism is in crisis, with traditional sources of news under siege from a failing business model, a resurgence of partisanship, and a growing expectation that all information ought to be free. In Covering America, Christopher B. Daly places the current crisis within a much broader historical context, showing how it is only the latest in a series of transitions that have required journalists to devise new ways of plying their trade.

Drawing on original research and synthesizing the latest scholarship, Daly traces the evolution of journalism in America from the early 1700s to the digital revolution of today. Analyzing the news business as a business, he identifies five major periods of journalism history, each marked by a different response to the recurrent conflicts that arise when a vital cultural institution is housed in a major private industry.

Throughout his narrative history Daly captures the ethos of journalism with engaging anecdotes, biographical portraits of key figures, and illuminating accounts of the coverage of major news events as well as the mundane realities of day-to-day reporting.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A comprehensive, fresh telling of an important dimension of American history. Covering America adds shape and new understanding to the intriguing stories many of us know as myths of origin, from Ben Franklin's escape from printer's devil servitude to biographies of such greats as David Halberstam and H. L. Mencken. Daly is skeptical enough to dig into the facts behind the legends, but happily he is not on a debunking crusade. His obvious faith in journalism as an honorable estate (as Louis Rubin calls it) and learned profession (as Robert E. Lee tried to envision it) comes through. --Douglas Cumming, author of 'The Southern Press: Literary Legacies and the Challenge of Modernity

This is grand narrative as it should be deftly balancing nuanced and consequential portraits of individual characters (Mencken, Luce, Hearst, Winchell, Lippman) with compelling accounts of the big developments. . . . I learned much from it and I truly enjoyed it. --Bruce Schulman, author of 'The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Politics, and Society'

Essential reading for anyone who cares about American history, media, or culture. This is a great story about the entire tradition of journalistic storytelling, told smartly and thoroughly. --Susan Orlean, staff writer for 'The New Yorker' and author of 'Rin, Tin, Tin: The Life and the Legend' and 'The Orchid Theif'

About the Author

A veteran journalist, Christopher B. Daly teaches journalism and history at Boston University. He is coauthor of Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World, which won the Albert J. Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association and the Merle Curti Award of the Organization of American Historians.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Univ. of Massachusetts Press (February 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558499113
• ISBN-13: 978-1558499119
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,071,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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