Mightier Than The Sword: How The News Media Have Shaped American History [Paperback]

Rodger Streitmatter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 5, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0813332117 | ISBN-13: 978-0813332116

In this pathbreaking book, Rodger Streitmatter takes the reader on a sightseeing tour of American history as influenced by the public press, visiting fourteen landmark events in U.S. history, from the abolitionist movement and the struggle for women's rights to the civil rights movement and Watergate. These are events that stir the political imagination; but, as Streitmatter shows, they also demonstrate how American journalism, since the 1760s, has not merely recorded this nation's history but has played a role in shaping it.This book is the first of its kind. Streitmatter avoids the mind-numbing lists of names, dates, and newspaper headlines that bog down the standard journalism history textbook. Instead, Mightier than the Sword focuses on a limited number of episodes, identifying common characteristics within the news media. In his final essay, Streitmatter looks at how the news media have shaped our understanding of events; by drawing examples from various episodes, this synthesis chapter identifies some of the common characteristics that the news media involved in shaping this nation have displayed.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

From the beginning of the American experience, the press has played a role in shaping public events. Journalism historian and communications professor Streitmatter (Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, LJ 11/15/95) has selected 14 episodes in American history to illustrate the press's influence. He includes accounts of the exemplary media coverage of activities such as the abolition and Civil Rights movements, along with less honorable mention of the coverage of women's rights and the Spanish American War. While not a lot of details are included for each event, a bibliography for further reading is provided with each chapter. Designed for both the general public and as a supplement to college-level journalism history courses, this book should be purchased by both academic libraries and public libraries where journalism history circulates.?Judy Solberg, George Washington Univ., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Streitmatter, a teacher at the School of Communications at American University in Washington, D.C., has produced this work both as a text for his course of the same name and as a source of information for the general public. Streitmatter describes 14 major historical events that have been shaped by the influence of print and electronic media and that have drastically affected American politics, economics, and society. He uses as examples journalists from Tom Paine to Rush Limbaugh who have broken away from the media "pack" mind-set to "set the agenda" during crucial events rather than merely record them with stenographic precision. In succinct, engrossing prose, Streitmatter shows how courageous, effective communicators have accepted their own and their medias' limitations to shape the outcome of events from abolitionism to anti-Semitism, women's rights to civil rights, the Ku Klux Klan to Vietnam. It seems the pen is not only mightier than the sword but also mightier than corruption, tyranny, and bigotry. Patricia Hassler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press (March 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813332117
• ISBN-13: 978-0813332116
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,054,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Episodes illustrate power of the press, December 10, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Mightier Than The Sword: How The News Media Have Shaped American History (Hardcover)

Today's journalist lives at an odd moment in history.

While the public expresses fear at the perceived power of the news media to corrupt American society, many editors and reporters, burdened with the stresses of daily journalism and competing with a myriad of new information/entertainment outlets, wonder if they have any influence at all.

Rodger Streitmatter's "Mightier than the Sword" points to 14 moments in American history when the news media wielded enormous power despite equally enormous odds. Some of these moments were golden - Edward R. Murrow's televised stand against Sen. Joe McCarthy, for example, or the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser's 1927 triumph over the Ku Klux Klan. Some, such as Father Charles E. Coughlin's anti-Semitic radio tirades of the 1930s and 1940s, were tarnished.

In each case, however, the press didn't simply mirror history. "The news media," Streitmatter argues, "shaped American history. Absolutely. Boldly. Proudly. Fervently. Profoundly." Indeed, the author reminds journalists that it is still possible to affect change.

Such influence comes with a price tag.

To understand the costs, Streitmatter mines each of these events, from Sam Adams' call for American independence through the era of the Muckrakers to the talk-radio inspired Republican revolution in the 1990s, for commonalities and clues to how the news media worked. What he found is not terribly surprising, but it comes at an opportune moment to remind journalists of a lesson from their often colorful past. Courage begets change. In many episodes, journalists faced intense criticism, threats and financial crises. In each case they weren't afraid to take positions of leadership.

Streitmatter's book is something of a "greatest hits" collection in journalism history, written in an easy-going style that allows editors to ponder press power without getting bogged down in the minutia of more in-depth studies. His work, however, is well sourced and a nice addition to the historian's collection, covering print, audio and visual journalism.

However, like a "greatest hits" album, Streitmatter's study will leave readers wanting more. Analyzing 14 events in one volume simply does not allow for depth in any singular episode, as the author acknowledges. For example, he blames the mainstream press for helping to slow the women's movement of the mid-1800s by attacking leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Unfortunately, he either ignores era women's magazines or points only to their opposition to the movement. Other scholars have credited these magazines with providing women their first real voice in the marketplace of ideas. The powerhouse Godey's Lady's Book, edited by Sarah Hale in the mid-1800s, did not favor suffrage, true, but it certainly furthered women's education and employment in medicine and education. Sometimes a second look at the episodes will reveal complexities that the author did not have room to explore.

With that said, however, the author does a remarkable job placing each episode in context and highlighting many of the complex arguments about press influence. He is most compelling when he examines crusades against the Klan by the New York World, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tenn., and the Montgomery Advertiser, showing how the best of journalistic intentions can backfire and how dubious motives can sometimes bring about heroic results.

The strength of "Mightier Than the Sword" is its focus on how the news media shaped America, for better or worse. By collecting these moments in one volume, Streitmatter reminds editors that it is still possible to positively influence their communities, even alter the course of history. It just takes a willingness to put reputations, reporters and, yes, even money on the line if the cause is worthy enough to justify the sacrifice.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis of why media must be included in history, May 7, 1999

By 

Christopher K Watson (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mightier Than The Sword: How The News Media Have Shaped American History (Paperback)

I had to read Mightier Than the Sword for Professor Streitmatter's class and let me tell you, it was on the of most interesting and easiest to read books probably ever produced in academia. Beyond the fact that he is probably the best professor at AU, he really sheds light on how the media have played a huge role in shaping U.S. history. He could have put more examples in there (14 is good but there are many more to choose from). It is interesting to think if some of the events he talks about, like McCarthyism and anti-Vietnam war sentiment, would not have gathered strength if it weren't for the media. This is a must-buy for anyone interested in American history or history of the media in America.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Book, November 16, 2009

By 

Media Maven - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History, Second Edition (Paperback)

The best parts of this book are that (1) I learned a great deal from reading it, but (2) I enjoyed reading it very much. The author writes in a narrative style that makes it so easy to learn about a subject that it does not seem like learning at all--it seems like something to enjoy. I would recommend that a person read the book one chapter at a time, not the entire book straight through.

Some of the topics will be familiar to readers with a general knowledge of the news, such as about the Spanish American War and McCarthyism. But other topics will be entirely knew, such as about the media's role in the KKK. Even when the topic is a familiar one, the author synthesizes the material so it is very cohesive and easy to follow--this was especially true with Watergate.

It is a terrific book and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn the ins and outs of the power of the media.