Entertaining Politics

Satiric Television and Political Engagement

By (author) Jeffrey P. Jones

Publication date:

16 December 2009

Length of book:

328 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

238x163mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780742565272

In this completely revised and updated edition (including eight new chapters), Jeffrey Jones charts the evolution and maturation of political entertainment television by examining The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Politically Incorrect/Real Time with Bill Maher, and Michael Moore's TV Nation and The Awful Truth. This volume investigates how and why these shows have been central locations for the critique of political and economic power and an important resource for citizens during numerous political crises. In an age of Truthiness, fake news and humorous political talk have proven themselves viable forms of alternative reporting and critical means for ascertaining truth, and in the process, questioning the legitimacy of news media's role as the primary mediator of political life. The book also addresses the persistent claims that these programs have cynical effects and create misinformed young citizens, demonstrating instead how such programming provides for an informed, active, and meaningful citizenship. The new edition takes account of the many changes that have occurred in television and political culture since Entertaining Politics' initial release.

Part 1 Part I: Television and Politics Today
Chapter 2 The Changing Face of Politics on Television
Chapter 3 Rethinking Television's Relationship to Civic Engagement
Part 4 Part II: Entertaining Political Talk
Chapter 5 From Insiders to Outsiders: The Transformation of Political Talk on Television
Chapter 6 New Political Television: Questioning News Media's Regime of Truth
Chapter 7 The Competing Senses of Political Insiders and Outsiders
Chapter 8 Changing the Conversation: The Daily Show's Interviews and Interrogations
Part 9 Part III: Faking it (For Real) in News and Talk
Chapter 10 Muckraking Through Fake Newsmagazines: Michael Moore's Satire TV
Chapter 11 Fake News vs. Real News: The Case of The Daily Show and CNN
Chapter 12 Faux Real and Faux Play: The Parody of Punditry in The Colbert Report
Part 13 Part IV: Audiences / Fans / Citizens
Chapter 14 Viewer Engagement Beyond Information Acquisition: Celebrity, Talk, and Play
Chapter 15 The Expanding and Contested Boundaries of New Political Television
Chapter 16 Appendix: Methodology for Audience Research

This thoroughly revised and brilliant second edition brings up to date the story of political television that Jones began with the first edition, and it expands the analysis in exciting new ways, thereby solidifying Jones's preeminence as a scholar who truly gets how politics, entertainment, and citizenship intersect in contemporary American life. All those who sense that the likes of Jon Stewart are doing something important, and all those who need convincing of the fact, should move this excellent book to the top of their reading list.