Carolyn L. Kitch

Pages from the Past: History and Memory in American Magazines

History and Memory in American Magazines

Pages from the Past

Janice Hume

This book considers the cultural meanings of death in American journalism and the role of journalism in interpretations and enactments of public grief, which has returned to an almost Victorian level. A number of researchers have begun to address this growing collective preoccupation with death in modern life; few scholars, however, have studied the central forum for the conveyance and construction of public grief today: news media. News reports about death have a powerful impact and cultural authority because they bring emotional immediacy to matters of fact, telling stories of real people who die in real circumstances and real people who mourn them. Moreover, through news media, a broader audience mourns along with the central characters in those stories, and, in turn, news media cover the extended rituals. Journalism in a Culture of Grief examines this process through a range of types of death and types of news media. It discusses the reporting of horrific events such as September 11 and Hurricane Katrina; it considers the cultural role of obituaries and the instructive work of coverage of teens killed due to their own risky behaviors; and it assesses the role of news media in conducting national, patriotic memorial rituals.

Journalism in a Culture of Grief

"Looks at sites and events in Pennsylvania to explore the emergence of heritage culture about industry and its loss in America. Traces the shaping of public memory of coal, steel, railroading, lumber, oil, and agriculture, and the story it tells about both local and national identity"--Provided by publisher.

Reclaiming the Industrial Past

Pennsylvania in Public Memory

From the Gibson Girl to the flapper, from the vamp to the New Woman, Carolyn Kitch traces mass media images of women to their historical roots on magazine covers, unveiling the origins of gender stereotypes in early-twentieth-century American culture.

Carolyn L. Kitch

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