As television began to overtake the political landscape in the 1960s, network broadcast companies, bolstered by powerful lobbying interests, dominated screens across the nation. Yet over the next three decades, the expansion of a different technology, cable, changed all of this. 24/7 Politics tells the story of how the cable industry worked with political leaders to create an entirely new approach to television, one that tethered politics to profits and divided and distracted Americans by feeding their appetite for entertainment鈥攆requently at the expense of fostering responsible citizenship.
In this timely and provocative book, Kathryn Cramer Brownell argues that cable television itself is not to blame for today鈥檚 rampant polarization and scandal politics鈥攖he intentional restructuring of television as a political institution is. She describes how cable innovations鈥攆rom C-SPAN coverage of congressional debates in the 1980s to MTV鈥檚 foray into presidential politics in the 1990s鈥攖ook on network broadcasting using market forces, giving rise to a more decentralized media world. Brownell shows how cable became an unstoppable medium for political communication that prioritized cult followings and loyalty to individual brands, fundamentally reshaped party politics, and, in the process, sowed the seeds of democratic upheaval.
24/7 Politics reveals how cable TV created new possibilities for antiestablishment voices and opened a pathway to political prominence for seemingly unlikely figures like Donald Trump by playing to narrow audiences and cultivating division instead of common ground.
Awards and Recognition
- A New Yorker Best Book We've Read This Year
- A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year
- Winner of the PROSE Award in Media and Cultural Studies, Association of American Publishers
- Winner of the Eugenia M. Palmegiano Prize, American Historical Association
Kathryn Cramer Brownell is associate professor of history at Purdue University and the author of Showbiz Politics: Hollywood in American Political Life.
"Brownell is an excellent historian, and her account of cable's evolution from the period right after World War II to the period right after the Cold War is among the best I have read."鈥擩esse Walker, Reason
"Brownell, a historian, details how the opponents of network broadcasting successfully cast the industry as 鈥榚litist鈥� and peddled cable as a democratizing force that would 鈥榚mpower people, politicians, and perspectives.鈥� Her persuasive account argues that cable鈥檚 advocates were, in fact, motivated primarily by profit, and that cable television鈥檚 Sisyphean pursuit of ratings and revenue ultimately served to cultivate a toxic media鈥攁nd political鈥攅nvironment."鈥�New Yorker
"The book鈥檚 clear argument is conveyed through meticulous research blended with captivating stories, and the cast of characters ranges from franchise owners and lobbyists to policy wonks and presidents. This book provides a new way of looking at the familiar histories of both cable television and American electoral politics due to its impressive deep dives into pivotal moments where those two histories were tied together."鈥�Choice
"Brownell is a great writer, the subject is decidedly relevant, and the timing of the book鈥檚 publication is beyond prescient. . . . The consequence of cable television will be felt long after subscriptions fade to black. This makes 24/7 Politics a must read for those who are concerned about the crumbling of American unity and disintegration of agreed upon fact."鈥擜lison Dagnes, Bucks County Beacon
鈥�24/7 Politics is the definitive history of the cable industry in the United States. Kathryn Cramer Brownell has a knack for finding the colorful characters and key moments that pull readers in鈥攁ll while illuminating the high stakes of cable鈥檚 success not just for the media industry but for American democracy.鈥濃�擭icole Hemmer, author of Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s
鈥淜athryn Cramer Brownell鈥檚 brilliant history examines the double potential of cable television鈥攁s a force for democratic empowerment, or for division and polarization. Ultimately, the stoking of outrage has triumphed. Brownell reveals in dazzling detail how it all happened. 24/7 Politics is a must-read for anyone concerned about TV鈥檚 use and abuse in the service of politics and power.鈥濃�擧eather Hendershot, author of When the News Broke: Chicago 1968 and the Polarizing of America
鈥淚n this impressive history, Kathryn Cramer Brownell shows how our political system made cable television and, in turn, how cable television remade our political system. Sweeping in its scope yet precise in its details, 24/7 Politics is a must-read account of the origins of our performance politics.鈥濃�擪evin M. Kruse, coauthor of Fault Lines: A History of the United States since 1974
鈥淲ith vivid storytelling and revealing insight, Kathryn Cramer Brownell traces how a scrappy band of political outsiders became Washington power players, reshaping how Americans watch television, understand the news, and participate in their democracy. 24/7 Politics can and should become the definitive history of the industry.鈥濃�擬argaret O鈥橫ara, author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America
