Politicotainment

The Editor: After receiving her Ph.D. in political science from Stockholm University, Kristina Riegert became Associate Professor in Journalism at Södertörn University College. She is the author of «Nationalising» Foreign Conflict (1998) and The Image War: NATO’s Battle for Kosovo in the British Media (2003) and editor of News of the Other: Tracing Identity in Scandinavian Constructions of the Eastern Baltic Region (2004). Her research interests are globalization, comparative television news and journalist cultures, the role of propaganda and media in armed conflicts, television’s role for national identity, and politics in entertainment programming.

• Contents: Kristina Riegert: Introduction – John Hartley: «Reality» and the Plebiscite – Göran Bolin: The Politics of Cultural Production: The Journalistic Field, Television, and Politics – Mark Andrejevic: Faking Democracy: Reality Television Politics on American Candidate – Valentina Cardo/John Street: Vote for Me: Playing at Politics – Jeffrey P. Jones: «Fake» News versus «Real» News as Sources of Political Information: The Daily Show and Postmodern Political Reality – Thaïs Machado-Borges: Brazilian Telenovelas, Fictionalized Politics, and the Merchandising of Social Issues – Sue Collins: Traversing Authenticities: The West Wing President and the Activist Sheen – Kristina Riegert: The Ideology of The West Wing: The Television Show That Wants To Be Real – Rune Ottosen: The Reagans: Fiction, History, or Propaganda? – Rikke Schubart: Storytelling for a Nation: Spielberg, Memory, and the Narration of War.

«Contemporary discussions and debates are increasingly caught up in the growing intertwinement of politics and popular culture. This outstanding collection zeroes in on television, the site where these developments are most visible; it serves up a set of illuminating analyses that will help us move beyond many of the polarized positions on this theme. With clear and accessible theoretical horizons and an array of rich and detailed examples, this volume moves forward our understanding of the complex dynamics between democracy and mediated entertainment in late modern society. With contributions from many leading scholars, the book is destined to become a landmark publication in this area.» (Professor Peter Dahlgren, Lund University, Sweden)