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In this completely revised and updated edition (including eight new chapters), Jeffrey Jones charts the evolution and maturation of political entertainment television by examining The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Politically Incorrect/Real Time with Bill Maher, and Michael Moore's TV Nation and The Awful Truth. This volume investigates how and why these shows have been central locations for the critique of political and economic power and an important resource for citizens during numerous political crises. In an age of Truthiness, fake news and humorous political talk have proven themselves viable forms of alternative reporting and critical means for ascertaining truth, and in the process, questioning the legitimacy of news media's role as the primary mediator of political life. The book also addresses the persistent claims that these programs have cynical effects and create misinformed young citizens, demonstrating instead how such programming provide for an informed, active, and meaningful citizenship. The new edition takes account of the many changes that have occurred in television and political culture since Entertaining Politics' initial release.

The current scientific vocabulary is one vocabulary among others . . . there is no need to give it primacy, nor to reduce other vocabularies to it. ~Richard Rorty, Consequences of Pragmatism, p. 142 Interesting philosophy is rarely an examination of the pros and cons of a thesis. Usually it is . . . a contest between an entrenched vocabulary which has become a nuisance and a half-formed new vocabulary which vaguely promises great things. ~Richard Rorty, Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity, p. 9

Differences between the discussion of political issues conducted on traditional political programs & political programs involving celebrities & other individuals who are not experts are studied. The notion of "cultural citizenship" is reviewed, demonstrating contemporary scholars' recognition of the influence that popular culture possesses over everyday relations between citizens & the state. Programming shown over two 2-week periods on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher & This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts demonstrate how participants on the respective programs interpreted the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The analysis indicated that participants on the first program largely delineated the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal as an everyday, universal occurrence, thus highlighting the extent to which popular culture has affected political events in the present-day US. The implications of the emergence of cultural citizenship for traditional, political notions of citizenship are also contemplated. J. W. Parker

This volume offers a unique and detailed examination of all stages of the 2012 presidential campaign, starting with the primaries and ending with post-election insights. Each chapter focuses on the campaign's communication variables, including images, messages, and debates. Special attention is paid to the roles and functions of new technologies.