Author | Brooke Gladstone |
---|---|
Illustrator | Josh Neufeld |
Language | English |
Subject | Media |
Genre | Comics, Journalism, Media Studies, Communication |
Publisher | W. W. Norton |
Publication date | May 2011 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | hardcover, paperback |
Pages | 192 |
ISBN | 978-0393077797 |
OCLC | 668194783 |
The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media is a nonfiction graphic novel by journalist Brooke Gladstone and cartoonist Josh Neufeld. Gladstone describes the book as "a treatise on the relationship between us and the news media." [1] It was further described by the New York Observer as "a manifesto on the role of the press in American history as told through a cartoon version of herself." [1] The title of the book refers to On the Origin of the "Influencing Machine" in Schizophrenia , a 1919 article written by psychoanalyst Viktor Tausk.
The Influencing Machine was released in hardcover in May 2011. A paperback edition with a new cover was released in May 2012. A tenth anniversary edition, with a new cover, interior revisions, new material, and a new afterword, was released in January 2021. [2]
Much in the vein of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics , Gladstone appears in the book as an illustrated character, taking the reader through two millennia of history — from the newspapers in Caesar's Rome to the penny press of the American Revolution and the activities of contemporary journalism. Issues discussed include bias, objectivity, misinformation, ethics, and a large chapter on war reporting. In a reference to the Trausk's "Influencing Machine," the book debunks the notion that “The Media” is an external force, outside of our control. Instead, it posits that the media is a mirror — sometimes a distorted one — reflecting society's beliefs and morals back at itself.
The Influencing Machine received recognition from magazines, newspapers, and websites such as The New Yorker , [3] National Public Radio, [4] the Associated Press, [5] The Nation , [6] Columbia Journalism Review , [7] and many others.
The book was named one of the best comics/graphic novels of 2011 by Publishers Weekly [8] and the Library Journal . [9] It was listed on a number of 2011 holiday gift guides, including New York magazine [10] and BoingBoing. [11] It was selected for 1book140, The Atlantic.com's reading club. [12]
The Influencing Machine has been selected as a common read by a number of universities, including Alaska Pacific University, American University, [13] Millersville University, [14] the University of Alaska Anchorage, [15] and the University of Maryland. [16]
The Influencing Machine has been translated into Korean, [17] Italian, [18] French, [19] and German. [20]
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