Calvin F. Exoo is Professor and Chair of Government at St. Lawrence University. He is also the author of Democracy Upside Down: Public Opinion and Cultural Hegemony in the United States and of The Politics of the Mass Media. His numerous articles on the politics of the mass media have appeared in such publications as Polity, New Political Science, The Journal of Ethnic Studies, The New York Times, The Times (London), The Baltimore Evening Sun, and the Los Angeles Times. In 2006, Exoo was selected as a Saul Sidore Lecturer at Plymouth State University, and in 2009, he was named Outstanding Faculty Member by the senior class at St.Lawrence University.
Challenges students to reexamine their beliefs about the news media, helping them to become more critical citizens. In doing this, the text engages students' attention in crucial developments in the media, in politics, and in the intersection of the two' - Paul R. Brewer, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Recent content analysis shows that terrorism and international conflict—the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—have been the number one story of American news since 9/11. The Pen and the Sword is the first comprehensive review of how the news media have covered—and are covering—these momentous events. This coverage is used throughout the book to introduce and to illustrate a critical perspective on the mass media, examining contemporary issues of media economics, politics, and public opinion.
