The Postwar Decline of American Newspapers, 1945-1965

Subjects:

• Communications » Journalism
• Communications » Communications (General)
• Communications » Mass Media

Reviews:

• Davies identifies a steady decline in the US newspaper business during the 20 years following WW II, and he attributes that decline in part to sluggish business practices, including the country's lethargic conversion to new printing technologies. He notes that newspapers during this period were passive about covering the Civil Rights Movement and failed to introduce journalistic innovations to compete with the growing audience for television news. Davies explains how sociological, legal, political, and cultural changes, as well as differences within the journalism community, influenced the newspaper industry's decline. He provides excellent detail about the early history of US television news. Joining a series intent on revitalizing scholarship on the history of American journalism, this book is easy to read and carefully annotated. A thematic bibliographic essay highlights other readings. Highly recommended. All readers; all levels.
  —Choice April 2007
• The Postwar Decline of American Newspapers, 1945-1965 is a long-overdue study of a neglected time in journalism history....The volume demonstrates that Davies has a broad grasp of postwar journalism history generally, and it is especially useful in that it goes beyond the standard recital of famous personalities and events to offer some meaningful analysis of the technological changes, shifting attitudes about press/government relations, internal debates about professional standards, and competition from other media that threatened the industry.
  —H-Net Reviews April 2007
• It is my dream that Davies' book will be read and talked about by journalism historians and students. It is equally essential that it be pondered by professional journalists, editors, and publishers, who cumulatively have contributed to the lemming-like leadership of an industry in decline in the post World War II period until 1965. Davies' book may be just a tiny step to help stomp upon the lemmings who continue to lead the newspaper business over the cliff in the twenty-first century. But at least his book looks like a stomp in the right direction.
  —American Journalism November 2006
• Davies seeks to explain the slow and steady decline of American newspapers in the two decades following World War II. He argues that the country's publishers and editors failed to respond to the need for more long-term analysis in their reporting of such broad societal changes as the Civil Rights movement and failed to recognize the challenge posed by television. He also looks at the impact of rising costs, demographic change such as suburban migration, and changing government-press relations.
  —Reference & Research Book News 2007
• This book includes a bibliographic essay, extensive footnotes, and an outstanding bibliography. It should be a handy reference for anyone with a professional interest in media. It is both scholarly and accessible and should provoke thought among media professionals about how to respond to the challenges of convergence....Every newspaper publisher in the U.S. should read this book for guidance in how to respond to today's news changes.
  —Communication Research Trends Winter 2007
• The Postwar Decline of American Newspapers, 1945-1965 provides a thoughtful overview of significant trends affecting newspapers during the post-war era....[m]akes a valuable contribution to the field of journalism history.
  —Journalism History

Table of Contents:

• Foreword
• Trends in the Postwar Press, 1945-1949
• Improvement and Criticism, 1945-1949
• Government, the Cold War, and Newspapers, 1950-`954
• The Press and Television, 1948-1960
• Newspapers and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1957
• The Seeds of Long-Term Change, 1950-1963
• Kennedy and the Press, 1960-1963
• An Industry in Crisis, 1960-1965960
• Reflections on the Postwar Press
• Resources
• Index
• Bibliographic Essay