Patricia D. Witherspoon – författare

Filling a crucial gap in research on the presidency and presidential communication, Within These Walls goes beyond the study of presidential speeches and examines the organizational structure, systems of information flow, and communication styles in the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt through Ronald Reagan. Focusing principally on the post-Watergate presidents, this book illustrates that a primary dimension of presidential communication is not that which is spoken during public addresses but that which takes place between the chief executive and his senior staff. Patricia Witherspoon's exhaustive research includes archival material from the Ford and Carter presidential libraries as well as information obtained from interviews with President Ford and several former senior aides in the Ford, Carter, and Reagan White Houses.Applying organizational theory to her study of the modern presidency, Witherspoon reveals that the White House, as we know it today, began its evolution into a modern organization during the FDR administration. It shares a variety of characteristics common to other organizations, including formal and emergent structures, formal and informal systems of information flow, and decision-making processes and managerial and communication styles selected and/or assumed by the organizational leader (the president). Students and scholars of political communication, political science, history, management and public policy, or any informed reader concerned with the modern presidency will find Within These Walls a source of valuable insight.

Time, Change, and the American Newspaper focuses on newspapers as organizations, examining the role of change in the newspaper industry and providing a model from which to view and respond to change. Authors George Sylvie and Patricia D. Witherspoon discuss environmental and organizational influences on contemporary newspapers, and they analyze newspapers within the larger context of all organizations. This more general perspective provides insights into the nature of change, the change process, the rationale for organizational changes, resistance to such changes, and initiation and implementation strategies. In its examination of change, this volume explores the causes of newspaper change, how newspaper change takes shape, and when change does not work. This consideration sets the stage for detailed case studies examining the roles of new technology, product, and people as change agents in newspapers. The discussion concludes with the impact of change--or lack of it--on the contemporary newspaper industry and the subsequent impact of newspaper change on society. Sylvie and Witherspoon propose future directions of change and of newspaper decision-making processes pertaining to change, and they offer suggestions for changes in newspaper structures and thought processes. Providing a sound, theoretically-based approach to the topic of change and American newspapers, this volume is essential reading for educators and students in journalism, media/newsroom management, media economics, organizational behavior/communication, and related areas. It also provides a wealth of insights and practical knowledge for newspaper publishers, editors, and practicing journalists.