Contents
Introduction. Front-Page Myths: The News Story
I.The Story of the News Story
1.Seven Master Myths in the News: Eternal Stories
2.The Mythological Role of Journalism: Stories for Society
II.Case Studies of News as Myth
3.The Victim: Leon Klinghoffer and News of Tragedy
4.The Scapegoat: The Killing of Huey Newton and Degrading Political
Radicals
5.The Hero: Mark McGwire and Godding Up U.S. Celebrities
6.The Good Mother: Mother Teresa and the Human Interest Story
7.The Trickster: Race, the News, and the Rape of Mike Tyson
8.The Other World: Haiti and International News Values
9.The Flood: Hurricane Mitch and News of Disasters
Conclusion. News, Myth, and Society: Twelve Propositions
Jack Lule is Professor and Chair in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. He is the author of more than 50 articles, book chapters, essays, and reviews and has won numerous awards for excellence in research and teaching. He serves on the editorial board of Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. A former bartender, truck driver and reporter, Lule continues to be an avid observer of the American scene and a frequent contributor to newspapers and periodicals.
Jack Lule has been known for years as a skilled and subtle
interpreter of news narratives. In Daily News, Eternal Stories,
Lule convincingly argues that storytelling, not information
dissemination, is the core activity of journalism. He finds mythic
themes in every nook and cranny of the news--in stories about
everything from terrorism and disaster to the exploits of Mark
McGwire, Mother Teresa, and Huey Newton. Daily News, Eternal
Stories is a wonderful book--smart, humane, witty, and passionate.
--John Pauly, Professor of Communication and American Studies,
Saint Louis University
This splendid book enters the debates over the crisis in news with
a provocative thesis that no one can ignore. To resolve our
confusion over the social role of newsmakers, the author argues for
understanding the news as myth. In dramatic fashion, The New York
Times becomes state scribe, the latest in a long line of privileged
storytellers. Communications scholarship for years has played with
the intriguing relation of mythmaking to news. Here that idea
finally comes into its own--with intelligence, mastery of the
literature, and a graceful style. This is a landmark book in the
sociology of news. It will be cover-to-cover reading for students
of journalism, media, and cultural studies. --Clifford G.
Christians, Director, Institute of Communications Research,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
A century ago, poets and novelists began to experiment with the
relation between mythic archetypes and the clichés and stereotypes
of everyday existence. Jack Lule approaches these matters from the
front pages of the daily press, rather than from the pages of
literature. He demonstrates basic mythic patterns in news and shows
how news media are busily engaged in reviving and replaying our
oldest myths. This book offers a vital perspective for
understanding the structure of news in a world bathed in
information. --Eric McLuhan, PhD, author of Electric Language :
Understanding the Message
-
Jack Lule has been known for years as a skilled and subtle
interpreter of news narratives. In Daily News, Eternal
Stories, Lule convincingly argues that storytelling, not
information dissemination, is the core activity of journalism. He
finds mythic themes in every nook and cranny of the news--in
stories about everything from terrorism and disaster to the
exploits of Mark McGwire, Mother Teresa, and Huey Newton. Daily
News, Eternal Stories is a wonderful book--smart, humane,
witty, and passionate. --John Pauly, Professor of Communication and
American Studies, Saint Louis University
This splendid book enters the debates over the crisis in news with
a provocative thesis that no one can ignore. To resolve our
confusion over the social role of newsmakers, the author argues for
understanding the news as myth. In dramatic fashion, The New
York Times becomes state scribe, the latest in a long line of
privileged storytellers. Communications scholarship for years has
played with the intriguing relation of mythmaking to news. Here
that idea finally comes into its own--with intelligence, mastery of
the literature, and a graceful style. This is a landmark book in
the sociology of news. It will be cover-to-cover reading for
students of journalism, media, and cultural studies. --Clifford G.
Christians, Director, Institute of Communications Research,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
A century ago, poets and novelists began to experiment with the
relation between mythic archetypes and the cliches and stereotypes
of everyday existence. Jack Lule approaches these matters from the
front pages of the daily press, rather than from the pages of
literature. He demonstrates basic mythic patterns in news and shows
how news media are busily engaged in reviving and replaying our
oldest myths. This book offers a vital perspective for
understanding the structure of news in a world bathed in
information. --Eric McLuhan, PhD, author of Electric Language :
Understanding the Message
-
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