Read more
While much has been written on illicit drug use, policy, and drugs' relationship to crime, this study examines the drug war as most Americans have experienced it--through mass-mediated rhetoric: presidential drug war declarations, news stories and hype, public service announcements, and the like. Such rhetoric influences public opinion about illegal drugs, drug users, presidents, and the drug war itself. And according to this author, such rhetoric is also used as a public relations campaign designed to increase the popularity of government officials and to assure quiescence regarding particular policy programs. This study demonstrates the underestimated influence of rhetoric, political uses of public relations and the powerful influence they have on public opinion and the policy process.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Rhetoric and the Political Practice of Public Relations
Declaring War on the Home Front: Presidential Definitions and Public Relations
Heroes, Foes, and Systemic Woes: The Mass-Mediated Vision of the War on Drugs
Partnership for a Drug-Free America Messages: The Depiction of Enemy Faces in the War on Drugs
People Like Us: The Ethics and Practices of Illegal Drug Addicts
Epilogue and Elements for Dialogue
Bibliography
Index
About the author
WILLIAM N. ELWOOD is Senior Research Scientist at NOVA Research Conmpany and Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Texas/Houston School of Public Health.
