<p>Broudy and Pollick critically examine the programs of four radio pundits (Limbaugh, Schultz, Colmes and Hannity) and two TV pundits (O'Reilly and Olbermann), comparatively assessing their argumentative styles, call screening processes, use of 'teasers', guest diversity (how ideologically balanced the guest list is), and the ratio of time devoted to callers vs. host soliloquies. Authors also fit the genre into an historical context, tracing its roots back to Father Coughlin from the 1930s. In addition, the authors examine how propagandistic each show is and how such propaganda might affect civic (and civilized) participation, public discourse and the perception of political issues. The writing style ranges from scholarly to more conversational and cheeky (especially when obviously fallacious reasoning appears in hosts' arguments). Finally, the authors critically discuss the concept of American Exceptionalism and how it underlies the premises of many of the hosts.</p>

Rhetorical Rape: The Verbal Violations of the Punditocracy

Politics & Social Sciences

Broudy, Daniel

Pollick, Barry

Politics & Government

Waldport Press

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Books by Pollick, Barry

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Pollick, Barry. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Rhetorical Rape: The Verbal Violations of the Punditocracy