Synopses & Reviews
America was born in an act of rebellion, and protest and dissent have been crucial to our democracy ever since. Along the way, movements for social justice have created a wide array of pamphlets, broadsides, newsletters, newspapers, and even glossy magazines.
In People's Movements, People's Press, Bob Ostertag brings this hidden history to light, examining the publications of the abolitionist, woman suffrage, gay and lesbian, and environmental movements, as well as the underground GI press during the Vietnam War. This fascinating story takes us from the sparse, privately owned media environment of the nineteenth century to the corporate media saturation of the present.
Within these publications, we find powerful debates about the direction of a movement; impassioned cries for rights and civil liberties; lonely voices reaching out to others after being alienated by the mainstream press and the unaccepting world around them; and demands that now seem surprisingly reasonable but were at one time quite revolutionary. With both plain language and rigorous scholarship, Ostertag tells the story not only of the publications but the many colorful characters who created them.
The story of the social justice movement press is deeply intertwined with the story of the movements themselves. In fact, Ostertag shows how reliance on the printed word fundamentally shaped what we now know as social movements. People's Movements, People's Press, then, offers a new view—from the ground up—of social transformation in America and raises the question of how social movements will change as they move from print to the Internet as their primary means of communication.
As large corporations take over every media outlet available, People's Movements, People's Press reminds us of the great value and historical importance of independent, activist-driven media.
Review
"At a time of rising corporate ownership, readers interested in the intersection of the media and social movements will appreciate this insightful book."
Review
At a time of rising corporate ownership, readers interested in the intersection of the media and social movements will appreciate this insightful book.” Booklist, ALA
The value of [Ostertags] approach lies in the skill with which he combines the history of the journalism of such movements with the history of the movements themselves.” James Boylan Columbia Journalism Review
Synopsis
America has a long history of protest and rebellion. In Peoples Movements, Peoples Press, Bob Ostertag recounts the history of the alternative print media that has arisen out of five social movements--abolition, woman suffrage, environmental, gay liberation, and Vietnam antiwar. By telling the story of the newspapers and magazines of these movements, the author shows the power of the written word to mobilize activists behind a political cause.
Ostertag provides a kind of peoples history of these social movements by explaining the effect that these publications have had on both the writers and their readership. The newspapers and journals were lively forums in which to argue, express enthusiasm or frustration, mobilize, and educate. Peoples Movements, Peoples Press saves these publications, some with print runs of only a few hundred, from being forgotten by a new generation of readers and activists. Ostertag also chronicles the rise of well-known publications like the Liberator, Sierra, and the Advocate.
Concise, accessible, and appropriately urgent, Peoples Movements, Peoples Press is an important book of journalism history as well as a call to arms for young activists ready to change their world.
Bob Ostertag has written widely on political subjects, particularly those concerning Latin America. He is an associate professor of technocultural studies at the University of California at Davis and lives in San Francisco.
Synopsis
America has a long history of protest and rebellion. In Peoples Movements, Peoples Press, Bob Ostertag recounts the history of the alternative print media that has arisen out of five social movementsabolition, woman suffrage, environmental, gay liberation, and Vietnam antiwar. By telling the story of the newspapers and magazines of these movements, Ostertag shows the power of the written word to mobilize activists behind a political cause.
This is a piece of our history that everyone concerned about the past and future of our democracy needs to know.” Eric Foner, author of The Story of American Freedom
This is a wonderful book and a delightful read that deserves the attention of all who care about journalism and social justice.” Robert W. McChesney, author of The Problem of the Media
Bob Ostertag has written widely on political subjects, particularly those concerning Latin America. He is an associate professor of technocultural studies at the University of California, Davis, and lives in San Francisco.
Synopsis
Bob Ostertag has written widely on political subjects, particularly those concerning Latin America. He is an associate professor of technocultural studies at the University of California at Davis and lives in San Francisco.