Riccardo Brizzi is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Bologna, Italy and visiting Professor at Sciences Po Paris and Sciences Po Lyon, France. His research interests include French and European history, and the history of mass media and political communication. His previous publications include France after 2012 (with G. Goodliffe, 2015).

• Introduction. Politics between Communication and Personalization.- 1. The Mass Media in France between 1944 and 1958.- 2. The Personalization of Politics and Government Communication during the Fourth Republic.-  3. De Gaulle and the Press: A Thirty-Year Long Misunderstanding.- 4. The Political Control of Television.- 5. The General and the Small Screen.- 6. Leadership and Television. The General and Constitutional Development during the Fifth Republic.- 7. Gaullist “Telecracy” (1962-65).- 8. The 1965 “Tele-Presidential” Elections.- 9. De Gaulle, Pompidou and May 1968.- Conclusion: The Origin of the 'Telecracy?'

“Brizzi’s book has much to recommend it. It will appeal to anyone interested in de Gaulle’s presidency, political communication in France during the Fifth Republic and, more generally, the exercise of executive leadership in western democratic political systems. It contains original research by the author (for instance on newspaper partisanship), draws significantly on archival data and interview material, and demonstrates a high level of scholarship.” (Raymond Kuhn, H-France Review, Vol. 19 (4), January, 2019)