MEDIAPOLITIK: How the Mass Media Have Transformed World Politics

Edwards, a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, offers a theory of the role of 20th-century mass media and its interconnectedness with politics. His theory is cohesive and the case studies are insightful, alert to interesting detail, and provide convincing examples of how and in what circumstances the skillful use of mass media can change historical outcomes. Among the examples are Chile and the 1988 plebiscite ousting Pinochet, China's Tiananmen Square, Russia under Gorbachev and glasnost, and South Africa and F.W. DeClerk's decision to dismantle apartheid. Edwards's analyses of how the Chilean democratic opposition parlayed 15 minutes a night of uncensored television time into a victory over Pinochet, and the role of the South African press, once freed of constraints, in aiding anti-apartheid factions are particularly illustrative of the potentially awesome power of the media. As demonstrations of the resiliency of human beings in search of freedom, both examples are inspiring. Although not dramatic, the description of kishas, Japanese press collectives that self-censor and generally honor establishment preferences, provides a fascinating contrast to the American press. But in the end, Edwards's credible academic theory of mediapolitik is secondary to his distress over the failings of mass media in America. Warming to this subject in his last chapters, Edwards launches a jeremiad against the empty moral sensibility of American journalists. The attack has substance and will find sympathetic readers. But Edwards's approach is too didactic, paternalistic and simplistic (he enjoins journalists to "practice virtues like wisdom, courage and prudence" and to "accept the responsibility of power and believe in the power of responsibility") to influence members of the media. (Apr.)