Political Commentators in the United States in the 20th Century

Devoid of technical jargon, this bio-critical sourcebook is a unique accounting of the careers of significant political commentators of the 20th century, including print and broadcast journalists, scholars, and political consultants. It offers insights into the rise and demise of political commentary, and future possibilities for an informed citizenry.

In 40 separate bio-critiques covering 42 of the 20th century's most significant political commentators, this book traces the evolution of technical political commentary through four phases: the didactic phase of commentary via the newspaper columnist, 1914-1928; the interpretive phase associated with broadcast commentary during the golden age of radio, 1929-1948; the entertainment phase of the TV era, 1949-1980; and the opinionated phase ushered in by the diversification and proliferation of targeted communications media in the final two decades of the century. The volume describes in detail the achievements and failures of each communicator's career in contributing to the rise and demise of political commentary across the four phases of development.

DAN NIMMO is a visiting scholar in the Department of Political Science at Baylor University. He is the author and/or editor of numerous books on politics and the news media, political campaigning, and American government, including The Comedy of Democracy (Greenwood, 1996), The Political Pundits (Praeger, 1992), and Cordial Concurrence: The Orchestration of National Party Conventions in the Telepolitical Age (Praeger, 1991).

CHEVELLE NEWSOME is Assistant Professor of Communications at California State University, Sacramento. In addition to her teaching and research interests in political communication, she has conducted research in women's attitudes toward female political office-holders.