The New Blue Media - by Theodore Hamm (Hardcover)

About the Book

Journalist and historian Hamm offers this penetrating--and entertaining--story of the rise of a new generation of liberal media figures, from Jon Stewart and Michael Moore to MoveOn.org. "The New Blue Media" is an indispensable guide to the contemporary progressive media in America.

Book Synopsis

A look at the journalists and satirists who've helped transform the political landscape in the twenty-first century.

The New Blue Media traces the rise during the Bush years of new media stars: the news-saturated satire of The Onion, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report; the polemical assaults of Michael Moore and Air America; and the instant-messaging politics of MoveOn, Daily Kos, and the netroots. With the exception of Air America, all of these new media outlets have found commercial success--marking, says Hamm, a new era in liberal politics.

Does this new media matter? In 2004, both Michael Moore and MoveOn became major players; more recently, the influence of the netroots has sparked upheaval and debate within the Democratic Party. The New Blue Media examines this phenomenon in depth, and the reshaping of both the style and the substance of progressivism.

About the Author

Theodore Hamm is the founding editor of The Brooklyn Rail and an associate professor of urban studies at Metropolitan College of New York. His book Rebel a Cause (2001) covered the politics of the death penalty in postwar California. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, and Truthdig, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.