Audience of one : Donald Trump, television, and the fracturing of America

One of the Top 10 Politics and Current Events Books of Fall 2019 (Publishers Weekly) An incisive cultural history that captures a fractious nation through the prism of television and the rattled mind of a celebrity president. Television has entertained America, television has ensorcelled America, and with the election of Donald J. Trump, television has conquered America. In Audience of One, New York Times chief television critic James Poniewozik traces the history of TV and mass media from the Reagan era to today, explaining how a volcanic, camera-hogging antihero merged with America's most powerful medium to become our forty-fifth president. In the tradition of Neil Postman's masterpiece Amusing Ourselves to Death, Audience of One shows how American media have shaped American society and politics, by interweaving two crucial stories. The first story follows the evolution of television from the three-network era of the 20th century, which joined millions of Americans in a shared monoculture, into today's zillion-channel, Internet-atomized universe, which sliced and diced them into fractious, alienated subcultures. The second story is a cultural critique of Donald Trump, the chameleonic celebrity who courted fame, achieved a mind-meld with the media beast, and rode it to ultimate power. Braiding together these disparate threads, Poniewozik combines a cultural history of modern America with a revelatory portrait of the most public American who has ever lived. Reaching back to the 1940s, when Trump and commercial television were born, Poniewozik illustrates how Donald became "a character that wrote itself, a brand mascot that jumped off the cereal box and entered the world, a simulacrum that replaced the thing it represented." Viscerally attuned to the media, Trump shape-shifted into a boastful tabloid playboy in the 1980s; a self-parodic sitcom fixture in the 1990s; a reality-TV "You're Fired" machine in the 2000s; and finally, the biggest role of his career, a Fox News–obsessed, Twitter-mad, culture-warring demagogue in the White House. Poniewozik deconstructs the chaotic Age of Trump as the 24-hour TV production that it is, decoding an era when politics has become pop culture, and vice versa. Trenchant and often slyly hilarious, Audience of One is a penetrating and sobering review of the raucous, raging, farcical reality show—performed for the benefit of an insomniac, cable-news-junkie "audience of one"—that we all came to live in, whether we liked it or not. A Generational Work That, Using Television, Reframes America's Identity Through The Rattled Mind Of A Septuagenarian, Insomniac, Cable-news-junkie President. In The Tradition Of Great Cultural Figures Like Marshall Mcluhan And Neil Postman, New York Times Chief Television Critic James Poniewozik Traces The History Of Television And Mass Media From The Early 1980s To Today, And Demonstrates How A Volcanic, Camera- Hogging Antihero Merged With America's Most Powerful Medium To Become Our Forty-fifth President. Beginning Where Postman Left Off, Audience Of One Weaves Together Two Compelling Stories. The First Charts The Seismic Evolution Of Television From A Monolithic Mass Medium, With Three Mainstream Networks, Into Today's Fractious Confederation Of Spite-and-insult Media Subcultures. The Second Examines Donald Trump Himself, Who Took Advantage Of These Historic Changes To Constantly Reinvent Himself: From Boastful Cartoon Zillionaire; To 1990s Self-parodic Sitcom Fixture; To The Apprentice-reality-tv Star; And, Finally, To Twitter-mad, Culture-warring Demagogue. A Trenchant, Often Slyly Hilarious, Work, Audience Of One Provides An Eye- Opening History Of American Media And A Sobering Reflection Of The Raucous, Gorillas-are Always-fighting Culture We've Now Become-- Part I: Origin Story. Unreal Estate ; The Least Objectionable Program ; Monopoly ; As Himself -- Part Ii: Antihero. The Dark Side ; Money Money Money Money! ; The Paranoid Style In America's Newsroom ; The Most Objectionable Program -- Part Iii: President Television. Red Light ; The Gorilla Channel ; Finale: The Idea Of A President. James Poniewozik. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [285]-309) And Index. "A generational work that, using television, reframes America's identity through the rattled mind of a septuagenarian, insomniac, cable-news-junkie president. In the tradition of great cultural figures like Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman, New York Times chief television critic James Poniewozik traces the history of television and mass media from the early 1980s to today, and demonstrates how a "volcanic, camera- hogging antihero" merged with America's most powerful medium to become our forty-fifth president. Beginning where Postman left off, Audience of One weaves together two compelling stories. The first charts the seismic evolution of television from a monolithic mass medium, with three mainstream networks, into today's fractious confederation of "spite-and-insult" media subcultures. The second examines Donald Trump himself, who took advantage of these historic changes to constantly reinvent himself: from boastful cartoon zillionaire; to 1990s self-parodic sitcom fixture; to The Apprentice-reality-TV star; and, finally, to Twitter-mad, culture-warring demagogue. A trenchant, often slyly hilarious, work, Audience of One provides an eye- opening history of American media and a sobering reflection of the raucous, "gorillas-are always-fighting" culture we've now become"-- Provided by publisher The New York Times chief television critic James Poniewozik traces the history of television and mass media from the early 1980s to today and demonstrates how a "volcanic, camera-hogging antihero" merged with America's most powerful medium to become the forty-fifth president. He charts the seismic evolution of television from a monolithic mass medium of mainstream networks into today's fractious media subculture. He then examines Donald Trump, who took advantage of these changes to reinvent himself: from boastful cartoon zillionaire; to 1990s self-parodic sitcom fixture; to The Apprentice-reality-TV star to Twitter-mad, culture-warring demagogue. A trenchant, often hilarious work, Audience of One provides an eye-opening history of American media and a reflection of a raucous, "gorillas-are always-fighting" culture Poniewozik traces the history of television and mass media from the early 1980s to today, and demonstrates how a "volcanic, camera-hogging antihero" merged with America's most powerful medium to become our forty-fifth president. He weaves together two compelling stories: charting the seismic evolution of television from a monolithic mass medium, with three mainstream networks, into today's fractious confederation of "spite-and-insult" media subcultures; and examining Donald Trump and how he took advantage of these historic changes to constantly reinvent himself. -- adapted from jacket