Review by Choice Review
That the interplay between press and government has been a subject of enduring fascination is evident in the expanding literature documenting the media's pervasive political influence. This latest addition is the result of a three-year research project of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Through a series of case studies, a survey of senior federal policymakers, and interviews with special panels of nominated reporters and high-ranking government officials, the study attempts to identify the ways an expanded Washington press corps influences the formulation of public policy. The results seem to confirm what many careful observers have long suspected-that the media are central to the decision-making process. What the press chooses to cover influences the public policy agenda, shapes public understanding of issues, and can even determine where in the policy-making bureaucracy decisions will eventually be made. Although mostly descriptive in tone, the author also offers normative and prescriptive conclusions. For example, since dealing with the press has become such a large part of the policymakers' job, there is a need to develop ``a comprehensive and strategic theory of public management of the press which will enable officials to do their jobs better than they have before.'' Upper-division and graduate collections.-E.C. Dreyer, University of Tulsa
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
These companion volumes are the result of a three-year project undertaken by the Harvard Institute of Politics. Directed by Linsky, the project examined the role of the media in the political process and documented its impact on individual public officials, governmental institutions, and policiesall at the federal level. Impact is the final report of the project's results. A conceptual treatment of the interplay between press and government is provided by Gary Orren in a prefatory chapter. The main text of the book relies heavily on research conducted by means of a survey of 500 senior policymakers, interviews with 36 key individuals (journalists and government officials), and six case studies. Linsky offers suggestions for improving the policy-making process by incorporating effective public relations, and proposes areas for further research. The survey design and interviewing techniques are explained in appendixes, and there is a section of notes. The case studies referred to in Impact are published in full in the companion volume. They examine: the 1969 reorganization of the Post Office; the resignation of Vice President Agnew; Carter and the neutron bomb; relocation of families near Love Canal in New York State; the Bob Jones University tax exemption battle; and, suspension of Social Security disability reviews in 1984. Official transcripts, documents, and notes accompany each case study. Together, these books help to further a better understanding of the workings of government, and are highly recommended for academic libraries. Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In 1959, Douglass Cater's The Fourth Branch of Government examined the extent to which the conduct of national affairs can be affected by the symbiotic relationship of Washington's press corps and its principal sources. In this tradition, Linsky offers a thoughtful, contemporary appreciation of interaction between the two ""estates ""which provides valuable insights on some current realities of the political process. A professor at Harvard's JFK School of Government and a sometime journalist (whose career included a stint as editor of The Real Paper), the author drew upon a wealth of research material, it encompasses a poll of 500 senior policymakers who have held office during the past two decades and six case studies (prepared by Linsky and colleagues at Harvard's Institute of Politics), plus one-on-one interviews with media heavyweights and former policymakers--Henry Kissinger, Robert McNamara, Elliot Richardson, et al. The individual analyses, which are to be published in full in a separate volume (reviewed below), cover: the resignation of Vice President Agnew; the 1969 reorganization of the Postal Department; President Carter's decision not to deploy the neutron bomb; the relocation of 700 families from the toxic Love Canal area in upper New York State; retention of a tax exemption by Bob Jones University; and suspension of disability reviews by the Social Security Administration. Linsky employs this material in workmanlike fashion. With relatively few exceptions, he observes, press attention can accelerate action or otherwise affect the process, but not the substantive content, of policymaking. In addition, the media has become demonstrably more adversarial in its approach to news-gathering since the mid-1960's, the author argues, citing the emergence of TV as a new forum for debating public-policy issues, albeit in somewhat abbreviated form. He also notes most journalists view leaks, even so-called trial balloons, as indispensable to their work. At any rate, Linsky contends that, as the role of political parties wanes, the influence of the press in determining how Americans govern themselves increases. In this context, he concludes federal policymakers who wish to set their own agendas must take the initiative and court rather than react to the press. Lucid, up-to-date commentary on a subject the media, by and large, keeps off the record. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
