Woodrow Wilson and the Press: Prelude to the Presidency [Hardcover]

Esteemed journalism historian James Startt has crafted an intriguing case study of the relationship between political leadership and the mass media during its early days, using the political ascendancy of Woodrow Wilson as its focus. Wilson's emergence as a major political figure coincided with the arrival of a real mass media and a more independent, less partisan style of political coverage. While most Nineteenth-century presidents remained aloof from the press, Wilson understood it could no longer be ignored: 'The public man who fights the daily press won't be a public man very long'.Preface and Acknowledgments Early Encounters with Journalism The President and the Press, 1902-1910 Emergence of a Public Statesman, 1906-1910 Wilson's Gubernatorial Campaign and the Press Governor Wilson and the Press, 1910-1911 The Wilson Presidential Movement: Publicity and Opposition The Press and Wilson's Preconvention Campaign Wilson and the Press at the Democratic Convention Wilson's Election Campaign of 1912 and the Press On the Threshold of the Whitehouse Notes Bibliography Index

Featuring impeccable research and lucid analysis, Woodrow Wilson and the Press offers the first in-depth examination of this important aspect of Wilson's career. - George Juergens, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University

This meticulously documented work sets the foundation for understanding today's political communication. It expands our knowledge of Woodrow Wilson and his era and opens the door to greater appreciation of the interrelationship between political and journalistic history. In studying Wilson's campaign press relations, we find the antecedents for contemporary political leadership, which attempts to shape public opinion through use of the mass media. James Startt's book offers a new perspective on the foundation for the modern Presidency. It should be of interest to historians and journalists alike.

- Maurine H. Beasley, Professor of Journl3.