Entertaining Politics

Entertaining Politics examines humorous political talk shows on television_Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Dennis Miller Live. The book challenges the assumption that these shows have dumbed down politics, as well as the idea that television in general is a primary cause of civic disengagement. By investigating the production, content, and audiences for such programming, Jeffrey Jones contends that these shows provide important alternatives to traditional elite political and news sources. He shows how these comedic political commentators have revived political humor as an accessible and potent means of political critique in times of postmodern crisis. Bridging the fields of political communication and cultural studies, Entertaining Politics makes the case for how and why popular culture is an increasingly powerful force in shaping our civic culture_and why this isn't always a negative.