Spinner in Chief

Stephen J. Farnsworth, Assistant Professor of Communication at George Mason University, is a former newspaper journalist and author or coauthor of three previous books on U.S. politics and the mass media, most recently The Mediated Presidency: Television News and Presidential Governance (with S. Robert Lichter, 2006).

“This meticulous George Mason University Professor fills his pages with engrossing examples of how Presidents and presidential candidates market themselves with a media willing to be used to further executive power, the concentration of which drains the public dialogue and debate through weapons of mass distraction.” —Ralph Nader “This brief, excellent book is a comprehensive examination of how American presidents sell themselves and their policies . . . a useful summary of the role of the president in managing his message. Recommended." —CHOICE “Whew! The presidential spin cycle can leave anybody reeling and trying to separate White House fact from fiction. But a fine scholar, Steve Farnsworth, has come to our rescue. He shows us what presidents say, and why they say it. Farnsworth’s book is consumer protection for citizens—and a lively, well-written delight for students.” —Dr. Larry J. Sabato, Author of A More Perfect Constitution: Ideas to Inspire a New Generation and Director of the Center for Politics, University of Virginia “Packed with examples and data, Spinner in Chief takes the reader into the heart of the White House’s efforts to market itself and raises important questions about the consequences of those endeavors.” —George C. Edwards III, Texas A&M University “Few writers have dissected presidential communication as deftly as Stephen Farnsworth does in Spinner in Chief. Through riveting cases and persuasive evidence and argument, Farnsworth provides one of the best assessments yet of how, and how fully, presidents control the nation's political agenda. His findings are sobering.” —Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, Harvard University

• Chapter 1 The Many Channels of Presidential Spin; Chapter 2 Spinning Congress and the Rest of the Government; Chapter 3 Presidents and Citizens; Chapter 4 Modern Media Channels; Chapter 5 The Consequences of Presidential Spin;