This book argues that political-economic features of the U.S. commercial media system have generated news coverage that favors neoliberal viewpoints during pivotal domestic policy debates since the early 1980s. It also demonstrates that this coverage can shape public opinion to support policies that exacerbate economic and political inequality.

• Acknowledgements


• Chapter 1 - Introduction


• Chapter 2 - Toward a Critical Understanding of News Media, Public Opinion, and the Politics of Economic Inequality


• Chapter 3 - "Gipper Sweeps Congress:" Commercial News Media and the Launch of the Reagan Revolution


• Chapter 4 - "No One Wants to Change the System as Much as Those Who Are Trapped by the System:" Commercial News Media and the End of Welfare As We Knew It


• Chapter 5 - Framing Inequality at the Ground Level: An Experiment


• Chapter 6 - What's New? Media, Public Opinion, and Democracy in the 21st Century


• Chapter 7 - Looking Backward, Looking Forward: Media, Power, and Inequality


• Appendix A - Content Analysis Information for Chapters 3 - 6


• Appendix B1 - Study Design Information for Chapter 5


• Appendix B2 - Supplementary Analyses for Chapter 5


• References

Matt Guardino is Associate Professor of political science at Providence College. A former journalist, his research applies social-scientific and cultural approaches to analyze media, political discourse and public opinion. His work has appeared in several academic journals and edited volumes. He is the co-author (with Danny Hayes) of Influence from Abroad: Foreign Voices, the Media, and U.S. Public Opinion (Cambridge University Press, 2013).