Electronic democracy: television's impact on the American political process

This thought-provoking, cohesive as sessment of television's impact on Am erican political life focuses primarily on the way in which TV affects public participation in the political process. In ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY, Saldich examines the content of TV news and its social role as a major source of information about public affairs.

The author also analyzes the assump tions and decision-making processes of television news broadcasters, and ex plores the ways in which politicians and pressure groups have tried to manipu late TV news coverage to further their own purposes. She discusses the im portance of name and face recognition conferred by TV, and reveals how the public's evaluation of an event's im portance or the credibility of a political leader is influenced by television repor tage.

In a time of widespread criticism of television, Saldich applauds the indus try for airing citizens' opinions and making power accessible to those peo ple usually excluded from the political process. She argues that, despite such serious problems as centralization of power within the national networks and increasingly unchecked control of government by television, TV plays a positive political role that enhances rather than trivializes democracy in America.

ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY will ben efit students, professionals, and all who are interested in TV analysis and in the "electronic literacy" necessary for in telligent assessments of television's contributions.