In contempt of Congress

Sample

Mordechai Kedar

"The Syrian regime, ruled by the Ba'th socialist party and headed by presidents from the 'Alawi minority, faces problems of legitimacy vis-a-vis its people, which it tackles through powerful security organizations and the state media." "Text, photographs and cartoons are marshalled in support of promoting the consensus accepting the legitimacy of the state. Analyzing the political domestic message of the Syrian press - as well as the quotation of newspaper sources in the original Arabic, and their English translation - shows up the problems faced by the shapers of public opinion in Syria, revealing what they see as the weakness of their state, society, regime and president. The book also looks at the new "message period" of Bashar, Hafiz al-Asad's son and successor."--Jacket.

Sample

Ki-Sung Kwak

Since South Korea achieved partial democracy in 1987, the country has moved away from authoritarian political control. However, after two decades of democratic transition, South Korea still does not have a strong liberal, individualist culture - something that has brought about a wide range of scholarly discussion on the nature of democracy practised in this dynamic country. While the political changes in South Korea have received rigorous attention from Western scholars, less attention has been given to the changing nature and role of media in this and other such transitions. This book focuses on the changing role of media in the more democratised political landscape of South Korea. It thereby contributes to debates about the emerging role of the media in democratic transition, especially in relation to approaches that go beyond traditional Western constructs of media freedom and the relationship between the state and the media. In addition, it discusses the complex interacting forces that affect the role of the media and their implications for state control and democratisation.

Sample

Jürgen Diethe

Die Anfänge des Journalismus werden meist auf das 18. Jahrhundert datiert? doch bereits 200 Jahre zuvor profilierten sich die Vorläufer der uns heute bekannten Presseorgane. Vor dem Hintergrund der turbulenten Ereignisse der Englischen Revolution Mitte des 17. Jahrhunderts erlebte der Journalismus ein explosives, wenn auch kurzlebiges Wachstum. Die ersten Journalisten betraten die Szene, angeführt von der schillernden Figur des Marchamont Nedham, ein Mann mit zahlreichen Talenten? ein rassiger Schreiber, gebildeter Humanist, republikanischer Theoretiker und obendrein ein innovativer Mediziner. Gleichzeitig war er ein notorischer Wendehals, der sich nicht scheute, seine geniale Feder ganz gegensätzlichen Sachen zur Verfügung zu stellen. Immer stand er im Zentrum der politischen Ereignisse, als Propagandist des Parlaments, als Kämpfer für den todgeweihten König, als Sprecher von Cromwell und schliesslich als Speerspitze für Karl II.

Sample

Judy Kaplan and Linn Shapiro

Red Diapers is the first collection of autobiographical writings by children of American communists. These first-person memoirs, short stories, and poems reflect red diaper baby experiences spanning generations, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and geographical areas. This multi-author account of how it felt and what it meant to grow up Communist in twentieth-century America gives insight into the joys and perils of living in a subculture defined by its opposition to society's most deeply held values. Some of the works speak of fond memories of family activism, others recall a past full of ambivalence and pain. In disparate voices, the contributors elaborate on coming to terms with a political inheritance of radical politics.