Troubled pasts

By Jill A. Edy

Subjects: Riots, california, los angeles, Media Studies, Politics and government, Current Events, Social problems, Politics, Nonfiction, Democratic National Convention (1968 : Chicago, Ill.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr00008089, Watts Riot, Los Angeles, Calif., 1965, Social problems in mass media, United states, politics and government, Social movements, Long-term memory, Social conditions, Los angeles (calif.), social conditions, Democratic national convention (1968 : chicago, ill.), Social change, United states, social conditions, Democratic National Convention (1968 : Chicago, Ill.), Riots

Description: A nation's collective memory does not simply exist. It is created. But what factors influence its form and content? And what roles do the news media play in fashioning our collective memory? Here Jill A. Edy observes the process of negotiating a meaning for the past as it unfolds in the news, exploring the ways that news practices, the relationships between actors who make the news, the expectations of news audiences, and the impact of current events affect the development of collective memories in a mass society.Using the 1965 Watts riots and the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago as case studies, Edy creates a useful framework for understanding how, over time, conflicting versions of events are resolved, what forms the resolutions take, and how those resolutions influence the representation of current news stories. Anyone who is interested in political communication and the role of media in public culture will find a wealth of insights in this valuable new book.