Force for Good

Rodger Streitmatter is professor of journalism at American University. A journalist and historian, he is the author of several books and has contributed to numerous popular and scholarly periodicals, including The Washington Post, The Advocate, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, and American Journalism. In 1995, he was honored as American University’s Scholar/Teacher of the Year; he received the Roy F. Aarons Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) in 2010.

• Introduction1—Securing Humane Care for the Mentally IllEntering the Newspaper WorldGrowing RestlessGoing Undercover to Do GoodExposing Doctors as IncompetentExposing Patient Food as InedibleExposing Living Conditions as InhumaneExposing Treatment as AbusiveCreating a National SensationPropelling Positive Change2—Waging War on Urban SlumsGetting a Close-Up View of the SlumsPioneering as a PhotojournalistReaching a National AudienceTurning to Long-Form JournalismFinding a Champion in Teddy RooseveltPropelling Positive Change3—Protecting America’s ChildrenGiving Voice to Young WorkersIlluminating the “Nation’s ShameCondemning Child Labor as “Early Slavery”Campaigning for Child Labor LawsPropelling Positive Change4—Creating a Better Life for African AmericansDeveloping an Innovative StrategyBecoming an Influential VoiceVilifying the SouthGlorifying the NorthCreating “Migration Fever”Resisting the BacklashEnding the “Come North!” CampaignPropelling Positive Change5—Closing Down the Original Ponzi SchemeCharles Ponzi Has a Creative IdeaCharles Ponzi Gets Rich QuickThe Boston Post Gives Charles Ponzi a BoostCharles Ponzi Gets Richer StillThe Boston Post Exposes the “Ponzi Scheme”The Boston Post Reveals Charles Ponzi’s Criminal PastCharles Ponzi Is DisgracedThe Boston Post Wins Accolades6—Assuring Citizens that “G-Men” Were Keeping Them Safe“Machine Gun” Kelly Creates the “G-Man”G-Men Track Down Bonnie and ClydeJohn Dillinger Gunned Down on a City StreetJ. Edgar Hoover Glorified as America’s No. 1 G-ManJ. Edgar Hoover Becomes the FBI’s No. 1 PR ManMore Criminals Gunned DownBringing an End to the Crime Wave7—Stopping Smokers from Killing ThemselvesInforming Readers That Smoking Shortens LifeReporting a Possible Link between Cigarettes and Lung CancerWarning Readers That Cigarettes KillReinforcing the Dangers of Cigarette SmokingReader’s Digest Crusades against CigarettesFailing Propel Positive Change8—Celebrating a Jewish Miss AmericaBecoming a Beauty QueenWinning the Miss America CrownMaking Miss America 1945 a Major News StoryBess Myerson Being BeautifulBess Myerson Having Simple TastesBess Myerson Choosing Music over StardomBess Myerson Being PatrioticBess Myerson Promoting TolerancePropelling Positive Change9—Breaking the Color Barrier in Major League BaseballBranch Rickey Undertakes a “Noble Experiment”Embracing a “Really Great Prospect”Praising an African-American Montreal RoyalCheering for an African-American Brooklyn DodgerPortraying Jackie Robinson as HumblePortraying Jackie Robinson as CongenialPortraying Jackie Robinson as WholesomeDownplaying Negative StoriesPropelling Positive Change10—Giving Average Citizens More Say in Choosing Their PresidentTV Viewers Help Select the Democratic NomineeTV Viewers Help Select the Republican NomineeDwight Eisenhower Embraces TV TechniquesDwight Eisenhower Uses TV to Help Win the White HouseTV Places the Power in the Hands of Average Americans11—Improving the Lives of Migrant FarmworkersOpening a Window onto a Shocking WorldGiving Voice to the DowntroddenPortraying Workers as Struggling to SurviveExposing a Cycle of PovertyAdvocating for ChangeAllowing the Other Side to SpeakWinning Praise and SupportFailing to Propel Positive Change12—Popularizing the Birth Control PillBecoming National NewsDownplaying the DownsideLaunching a RevolutionPortraying Use of the Pill as a Feminist ActCombatting the Catholic ChurchPropelling Positive Change13—Fueling the Space RaceCapturing the Public ImaginationContinuing to Promote the Space RaceGoing Where TV Hadn’t Gone BeforeRacing toward the MoonExperiencing a Tragic SetbackResuming the Race to the MoonTaking a Giant Leap for MankindPropelling America toward a Global Triumph14—Achieving Justice for Japanese Americans Interned during World War IIProposing ReparationsTelling Poignant Stories of Hardship and LossReporting on Internment DefendersExposing Racism and Politics as Motivating FactorsLabeling Internment a “Grave Injustice”Showcasing the RecommendationsSupporting Reparations through EditorialsKeeping the Issue in the Public EyePoliticians Taking ActionPropelling Positive Change15—Stopping Catholic Priests from Sexually Abusing Little BoysCatholic Officials Paying “Hush Money”Other Publications Expand the CoverageTV News Explores More Facets of the StoryOnline Venues Take the Story in New DirectionsAllowing Victims to Tell Their StoriesPropelling Positive Change16—Redefining the American LesbianComing Out on TV—and Getting Lots of ApplauseExperiencing Tough Times—but Not with the News MediaHelping to Heal a NationTriumphing as a Talk Show HostCoupling with Her “Perfect Fit”Propelling Positive ChangeConclusionNotesBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

Rather than writing a long narrative that tries to connect various themes, Streitmatter provides a series of vignettes that examine specific issues ranging from how society treats its citizens to civil rights and gender. Although this format can sometimes be chaotic, the author breaks each issue/chapter, 16 in all, into easily digestible chunks so that readers can go right to the topic at hand. This is…a good book for those new to an issue and for novice researchers, who can get a head start on where to look for context and analytical viewpoints. Though at times the relationship between the news media and the issues seems peripheral or even tangential to the discussion, the book offers readers a chance to get the basic facts and then think about the relationship to the media—how the media framed an issue and thus used it for good or ill. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates; general readers.