The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America

Historian, lawyer and writer Daniel Boorstin's 1961 analysis of modern media is almost eerie in its foresight. Before the era of reality television and 24-hour news networks, Boorstin explained how press releases and publicity stunts led to complacency in our journalists and media. "Pseudo-event" should be at least as famous a phrase as "the media is the message," and Boorstin's spot-on theories...more

Historian, lawyer and writer Daniel Boorstin's 1961 analysis of modern media is almost eerie in its foresight. Before the era of reality television and 24-hour news networks, Boorstin explained how press releases and publicity stunts led to complacency in our journalists and media. "Pseudo-event" should be at least as famous a phrase as "the media is the message," and Boorstin's spot-on theories should be of interest to anyone studying art, media, communications, or journalism.   hide