Brian Rosenwald is Coeditor-in-Chief of “Made by History,” a daily Washington Post history section, and a historical consultant for the Slate podcast Whistlestop. He has written for the Washington Post, CNN.com, Politico, and The Week, among others, and has discussed contemporary politics on CNN, NPR, and the Sirius XM Radio channel POTUS: Politics of the United States. Rosenwald is Scholar in Residence at the Partnership for Effective Public Administration and Leadership (PEPAL) program at the University of Pennsylvania.
At long last, Brian Rosenwald has filled a scholarly vacuum by
offering a cogent, well-researched, and entertaining explanation of
how Donald Trump was elected president. The conventional wisdom
that Trump won by swinging 80,000 voters in Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin, and Michigan might be factually accurate, but is too
simplistic. Instead, Rosenwald proves that the outcome of the 2016
election was three decades in the making, made possible by the
emergence of a candidate perfectly suited to capitalize on an
environment created by the titans of talk radio. This is the book
that provides proper context for the greatest election upset in
modern American history.
*Michael Smerconish, Sirius XM and CNN host*
Rejecting claims that the medium acted as a Republican puppet,
[Rosenwald] describes a curious relationship between the Grand Old
Party and talk radio hosts, one that has had seriously deleterious
consequences for American political life.
*Financial Times*
[Rosenwald] argues that the profit motive radicalized talk radio
and with it the Republican Party…Because conflict and
scaremongering drove ratings and ratings drove profits, the more
extreme the hosts became, the more listeners they gained, and the
more money they made. As they amassed power and influence, the
hosts could demand fealty from the politicians they were discussing
every day.
*The Nation*
Moving the discussion of contemporary conservative media out of the
realm of shadowy conspiracy theory and into the sunlight of deeply
researched historical investigation, Brian Rosenwald shows how
right-wing talk radio moved from the margins to the mainstream and
warped American politics in the process. This book will be of vital
interest to anyone concerned about restoring the quality of
American democratic debate.
*Joseph Crespino, author of Atticus Finch: The Biography—Harper
Lee, Her Father, and the Making of an American Icon*
Before there were social media echo chambers, before there was Fox
News, there was Rush Limbaugh and his kin. Brian Rosenwald has told
the definitive story of how a squad of outrageous, rule-breaking
right-wing radio hosts set the Republican Party agenda and then
overtook the party itself. Scholarly and yet eminently readable,
this book is indispensable for understanding the world conservative
media wrought.
*David Greenberg, Rutgers University*
Upending conventional wisdom, Brian Rosenwald’s deeply researched
book offers an incisive account of how conservative talk radio
transformed American politics, altering the relationships between
Congressional leaders and rank-and-file members, between activists
and the party establishment, and between the demands of
entertainment and the process of policymaking.
*Bruce J. Schulman, Boston University*
The rise of conservative talk radio has changed American politics
and American life, and Brian Rosenwald tells a careful and
comprehensive story of its rise and its mushrooming influence. From
Rush Limbaugh’s humble beginnings to the election of Donald Trump,
Talk Radio’s America shows through careful research and subtle
argument how talk radio moved well beyond entertainment and
grievance to change the role and makeup of mainstream media, the
kinds of stories Americans consume, and the pliable nature of
truth. A superb guide to one of the most potent forces in modern
political history.
*John Dickerson, 60 Minutes correspondent*
A brisk, well-researched history of the rise and transformation of
talk radio…A vigorous analysis of contemporary politics.
*Kirkus Reviews*
Demonstrate[s] that broadcasters like…Rush Limbaugh were just as
important to building the Republican Party as deified political
figures like George Wallace, William Buckley, or Pat Buchanan.
Indeed, far from being a mere tool of the Republican Party, talk
radio is revealed…as the dominant explanation for that party’s
continued existence, an essential precondition of the far right’s
cultural dominance today.
*New Republic*
Important and groundbreaking…Expertly shows how disparate strands
in the American political landscape converged in the late 1980s to
help make talk radio the potent political force it would become…A
must-read for anybody hoping to understand how Trump captured the
Republican presidential nomination.
*Washington Examiner*
Rosenwald takes a look at the rise of conservative radio from a
variety of perspectives and offers a clear study of how policies,
market forces, personalities, and timing played a role in creating
a movement…The book is interesting from beginning to end.
*European Legacy*
An informative account of talk radio and its impact on politics and
policymaking.
*Pittsburgh Post-Gazette*
In his 2016 presidential run, Donald Trump utilized styles of
rhetoric similar to those of talk radio hosts in order to garner a
strong base of loyal followers and rile up political activism
amongst his supporters…This book could prove useful for those
interested how media—both the form factor and the communicative
aspects—affect political standing.
*Communications Booknotes Quarterly*
Documents Limbaugh’s formative role in turning an old technology
into an instrument of power that transformed the Republican Party
and political discourse in the United States…An important book…Goes
a long way to documenting how an old medium helped create a new
politics in the United States and paved the way for Donald Trump’s
presidency.
*IEEE Technology and Society Magazine*
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