The Media Syndrome

Over the past 45 years, award-winning sociologist David L. Altheide has illuminated how media formats and media logic affect our understanding of social issues, of how political decisions are made, and of how we relate to each other. In this masterful, summative work, Altheide describes the media syndrome: how these factors shape our expectations of, and reactions to, both public and personal events. Ideal for courses on mass media and political communication, the book provides a detailed description of the media syndrome and its impact on daily life; uses historical and contemporary examples from Watergate to Edward Snowden; includes the changes in the ecology of communication from mass media to social media and its social impact.

Preface and Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 The Eagleton and Watergate Stories Chapter 3 The Iranian Hostage Crisis, The News Code, and Mediated Diplomacy Chapter 4 Gonzo Justice Chapter 5 The Missing Children Problem: A Case Study in Media Sensationalism Chapter 6 The Gulf War and The Military-Media Complex Chapter 7 The Columbine Shootings and Terrorism Chapter 8 The Propaganda Project and the Iraq War Chapter 9 Consuming Terrorism Chapter 10 Mediated Fear: Digital Booty, Wiki Leaks, ISIS, and Ebola Notes References Index

David L. Altheide is Regents' Professor Emeritus in the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University, where he taught for 37 years. His work has focused on the role of mass media and information technology in social control. Author of fifteen books and over 150 professional papers, Altheide received the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI) Cooley Award three times, given to the outstanding book in symbolic interaction, as well as the 2005 George Herbert Mead Award for lifetime contributions to SSSI, and the society's Mentor Achievement Award in 2007. His works include Terrorism and the Politics of Fear, Creating Fear: News and the Construction of Crisis, Media Power, and Media Logic.