This book looks broadly at how the contentious relationships between the media and US President Lyndon B. Johnson affected the national consciousness during the turbulent period of his leadership. Johnson had to deal with a particularly difficult and divisive period in American history and his relationship with the press undoubtedly contributed to an atmosphere of friction within the United States. A more specific purpose of this research monograph is ultimately to shine a light on the trials and tribulations that Johnson faced as a president dealing with new forms of communication in the 1960s. It aims to show the difficulties that he had in adapting a very personal style of leadership – which had served him well in the Senate – in the role he undertook as leader of a nation. Further to this, it builds on this foundation to argue that Johnson developed a reactive, passive stance to dealing with the media, one that ultimately contributed to a loss in popularity and status as leader – a blow he never recovered from during his time in office.
Author(s): Benjamin W. Quail
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 266
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
Aims
Methodology
Chapter 2: Thematic Review
Introduction
Propaganda
The Media
The Media, Press Secretary and the Presidency
The Media and the Johnson Presidency
Opinion Polls
Polling and the Johnson Presidency
Lyndon B. Johnson: The President
Vietnam
The Great Society
Conclusion
Chapter 3: 1963–1964: Assuming and Consolidating Power, Campaigning for Election
Chapter 4: 1965: Guns vs. Butter—Escalation in Vietnam and the March of the Great Society
Chapter 5: 1966: Widening Credibility Gap and Sliding Popularity
Chapter 6: 1967: Pacification, Charm Offensives and Further Undermined Credibility
Chapter 7: 1968: Tet, Plummeting Popularity and the Ultimate Failure of the Johnsonian Press Strategy
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Reactive Strategy
The Johnson Personality
New Technology, External Interference and Balancing Domestic and Foreign Policy
Summary
Bibliography
1. Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, Austin, Texas
(i) Papers of Lyndon B Johnson
(ii) National Security Files
(iii) White House Central Files—By Name of Aide
(iv) Meeting Notes Files
2. Oral History Interviews—Courtesy of the Online Archives of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, Austin, Texas
3. Newspapers and Published Polls
4. Foreign Relations of the United States Series
Johnson Administration
5. Books
6. Articles and Chapters
7. Other Sources
Index
