Because some students have asked – I am producing a very short, single-entry, MLA-formatted annotated bibliography (Works Cited list)
Works Cited
Poniewozik, James. “TV Makes a Too-Close Call.” Time, 20 Nov. 2000, pp. 70-71.
- In this November 2000 article, James Poniewozik, a reporter for Time magazine, discusses the particulars of the 2000 Presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The article text articulates the facts of the competition, to wit, that both candidates had a nearly even share of the votes, while also lamenting broadcast television’s role in exacerbating the tensions around that contest. Poniewozik’s Jeremiad laments that TV broadcast has “tarnished” election night proceedings by turning what is by most accounts a rather dull process of counting ballots into the sort of stuff usually reserved for reality TV. In the end, Poniewozik encourages voters to retain their hope and faith in the democratic process despite the tawdriness of what happened at the turn of the century.
- I can use Poniewozik’s article in my discussion of media and electoral politics largely as a historical timepiece. In hindsight, the author’s recollection of events seems quaint: the electoral shenanigans of 2000 and the ongoing count debacle that dominated headlines, seems altogether innocent compared to election contention 20 years later. As a result, I feel that this piece will allow me to posit that the more things change, the more they stay the same (media, election, mess) but also that while the situation may be similar in kind, things have gotten much, much worse by degree.