Items23The creator’s order
  1. 1Public opinion (1922)Public opinion (1922) 7.2/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 1922Walter Lippmann opens with the difference between events outside our experience and the pictures we form of them. News and familiar categories help fill that gap before we are aware of making a judgment. Start here for a way to ask what an opinion rests on when most of what it describes has been…0
  2. 2Propaganda: the formation of men's attitudes (1962)Propaganda: the formation of men's attitudes (1962) 8.0/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 1962Jacques Ellul treats propaganda as part of the social environment in which people hear and explain events. His discussion of messages that reinforce belonging gives a reader something to notice alongside direct political appeals. Choose it for a historical account of how familiar ideas can become…0
  3. 3How propaganda works (2015)How propaganda works (2015) 10.0/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 2015Jason Stanley asks how a statement can invoke a democratic ideal while supporting practices that undermine it. The argument makes particular words worth paying attention to, especially when a familiar ideal is treated as proof that a policy serves it. Choose it for a philosophical account of why…0
  4. 4Manufacturing consent (1988)Manufacturing consent (1988) 8.4/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 1988Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky look at the institutions behind the news that reaches an audience. Their model puts advertising, ownership, and dependence on regular sources alongside editorial decisions. Read it for a structural explanation that you can compare against particular cases of…0
  5. 5Propaganda and Persuasion (2012)Propaganda and Persuasion (2012)Published Jan 1, 2012Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell move between definitions, historical examples, and case studies. Their treatment makes it possible to consider an appeal alongside the circumstances of its production and the response it received. Choose it for a reference that helps you establish what…0
  6. 6Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985)Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985) 8.3/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 1985Neil Postman examines the changes he thinks television brought to American public argument. A short news item followed by another unrelated one gives him a way to ask what a medium makes it easy to say or follow. Choose it as a historical account of television and compare its questions with other…0
  7. 7The Attention Merchants (2016)The Attention Merchants (2016) 8.0/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 2016Tim Wu traces businesses that give people something to read or watch and in return sell access to their attention. Looking at newspapers and broadcasting together makes the financial relationship visible across more than one medium. Read it to ask who pays for a source you use and what sort of…0
  8. 8Merchants of Doubt (2010)Merchants of Doubt (2010) 8.0/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 2010Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway look at historical campaigns that publicly questioned evidence, including the fight over tobacco harms. A reader can compare the scientific record with the way disagreement about it was presented. Choose it for documented examples of how a public argument can…0
  9. 9How Minds Change (2019)How Minds Change (2019) 8.5/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 2019David McRaney looks at changes of mind through personal accounts and research on belief. Some of his subjects have to change their relationship to a group as well as reconsider a claim. Choose it for the reasons an explanation that looks persuasive from the outside can feel costly for a particular…0
  10. 10On Rumors (2014)On Rumors (2014)Published Jan 1, 2014Cass R. Sunstein asks why a false story can seem more credible as more people repeat it. His account of people drawing conclusions from one another gives you a way to look for independent evidence when an assertion suddenly seems widespread. Read it for the difference between a rumor’s reach and…0