Author | Brooke Gladstone |
---|---|
Illustrator | Josh Neufeld |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Media |
Genre | Comics, Journalism, Media Studies, Communication |
Publisher | W. W. Norton |
Publication date | May 2011 |
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]
Disney Comics is currently a label of Disney Publishing Worldwide and was a comic book publishing company operated by The Walt Disney Company from 1990 to 1993. It was connected with W. D. Publications, Inc., which was a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company that published "Disney Comics" during that time span. W. D. Publications, Inc. created Disney Comics in 1990 so that The Walt Disney Company would not have to rely on outside publishers such as Gladstone Publishing. In the US, Disney only licensed Disney comic books to other publishers prior to 1990.
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Peter Sanderson Jr. is a comic book critic and historian, as well as an instructor/lecturer in the New York area concerning the study of graphic novels/comic books as literature.
Brooke Gladstone is an American journalist, author and media analyst. She is the host and managing editor of the WNYC radio program On the Media.
Jason Starr is an American author, comic book writer, and screenwriter from New York City. Starr has written numerous crime fiction novels and thrillers.
Josh Neufeld is an alternative cartoonist known for his nonfiction comics on subjects like Hurricane Katrina, international travel, and finance, as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and Brooke Gladstone. He is the writer/artist of A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, and the illustrator of The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media.
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A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge is a non-fiction graphic novel by cartoonist Josh Neufeld. Originally published as a webcomic, A.D. tells the stories of a handful of real-life New Orleans residents and their experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina. The graphic novel was a New York Times best-seller and was nominated for an Eisner Award and a Harvey Award in 2010. In addition, A.D. was selected for inclusion in The Best American Comics 2010.
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Comics has developed specialized terminology. Some several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under dispute, so this page will list and describe the most common terms used in comics.
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