Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 224
•
Trim: 6½ x 9
978-0-7425-3851-1 • Paperback • May 2006 • $42.00 • (£35.00)
James E. Mueller is associate professor of journalism at the University of North Texas.
Chapter 1 Foreword
Chapter 2 1. Friends for a Long Time
Chapter 3 2. Not His Father's (Or Grandfather's) Press Relations
Chapter 4 3. Message Discipline Before It Was Cool
Chapter 5 4. Plugging Leaks
Chapter 6 5. The Dark Side
Chapter 7 6. The Plain Talk of Bushisms
Chapter 8 7. Towel Snapping
Chapter 9 8. Shaving the Ear Hair
Chapter 10 9. Eating the Zombies
Chapter 11 10. No One Will Do It Better
Chapter 12 Bibliography
Towel Snapping the Press is an informative book that's also fun to read. That's because Jim Mueller interviewed 29 journalists, recorded their often-amusing anecdotes, and then put present practice into historical perspective. What comes out is a dual portrait of the president and the press.
— Marvin Olasky, editor–in–chief, World News Group; From The Foreword
Mueller's account of the press-presidency relationship during the Bush years is an engaging and informative read. It benefits from the author's work both as a longtime practicing journalist and now as a scholar of political communications. He deftly combines interviews with contemporary journalists with a review and analysis of scholarly works. Some of Mueller's conclusions and suggestions for change will rankle journalists mired to the paradigm of 'objective' reporting. But that is a good thing because such a discussion is crucial to the future of political journalism.
— Mark J. Rozell, George Mason University, author; The New Politics of the Old South: An Introduction to Southern Politics, Sixth Edition
As a photojournalist, I have photographed and traveled with George W. Bush and his staff since 1999. Jim has done an amazing and extremely accurate job in examining and defining the Bush administration's success with message management and press control. He also writes a candid inside look at Bush's early years as a businessman and part owner of the Texas Rangers that provides the prequel to understanding why Bush has succeeded when the odds are against him. This book will prove to be essential reading for understanding what has now become a new era in political press management.
— Chris Usher, photojournalist
A lively saga of the evolution of how George W. Bush learned to interact with the news media. . . . One of the most entertaining aspects of the book is the countless stories of Bush interacting with members of the news media. Recommended.
— Choice Reviews
Forty years in the sports media business, dealt personally with the big names who have come through North Texas, and nobody, not Tom Landry, Tex Schramm, Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson, Mark Cuban, Don Nelson, Dick Motta, etc., could out-glad hand, or out-mad, George W. when it came to what you wrote or said. George W. has a gift in this area, mainly because I think once you remove all the 'political handlers' he ain't a bad guy at all. The George W. we once knew as the Rangers' owner was a totally different cat—open, honest, funny, friendly, combative—than what we now often see from the White House. Mueller's Towel Snapping the Press tells that story, and a lot of stories from all media angles, good and bad.
— Randy Galloway, the Fort-Worth/Dallas Star-Telegram
—Follows George W. Bush's lifelong relationship with the media, back to his grandfather's political career.
—Compares Bush's press relations with those of other presidents and concludes that he is among the best, if not the best modern president at understanding and handling journalists.
—Describes how Bush has adapted his press relations to his various jobs in baseball and politics, sometimes towel snapping (teasing) sportswriters, sometimes emphasizing message discipline, but always maintaining controlof the relationship.
—Integrates interviews with journalists from a variety of media who have covered Bush—as governor, baseball executive, Congressional candidate, and president—such as Helen Thomas, Bob Schieffer, Bill Plante, Ron Hutcheson, Adam Clymer, Dan Froomkin, Edwin Chen, Paul Koring, and more.
—An engaging read by a journalism professor with ten years of professional newspaper reporting experience.