Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History Book

List of Illustrations vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

1 Sowing the Seeds of Revolution 1

2 Abolition Turning Americas Conscience Against the Sins of Slavery 17

3 Slowing the Momentum for Women's Rights 32

4 Attacking Municipal Corruption The Tweed Ring 47

5 Journalism as Warmonger The Spanish-American War 63

6 Muckraking The Golden Age of Reform Journalism 80

7 Defying the Ku Klux Klan 94

8 Father Coughlin Fomenting Anti-Semitism via the Radio 110

9 Creating "Rosie the Riveter" Propelling the American Woman into the Workforce 124

10 Exposing Joe McCarthy Television's Finest Hour 139

11 Pushing the Civil Rights Movement onto the National Agenda 155

12 Vietnam War Bringing the Battlefield into the American Living Room 171

13 Watergate Forces the President to His Knees 188

14 Rush Limbaugh Leading the Republican Revolution 202

15 9/11 Failing the American Public 216

16 Electing an African-American President A Case Study in News Media Bias 232

17 How the News Media Have Shaped American History Focusing on the How 246

Notes 257

Bibliography 291

About the Book and Author 297

Index 299