Children, media, and American history : printed poison, pernicious stuff, and other terrible temptations / Margaret M. Cassidy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cassidy, Margaret, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mass media and children--United States--History.

Mass media and children.

Television and children--United States--History.

Television and children.

Children's literature--Publishing--United States--History.

Children's literature.

Children--Books and reading--United States--History.

Children.

Children--Books and reading.

Children's literature--Publishing.

History.

United States.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvi, 118 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Routledge, 2018.

Summary:

Printed, poison. Pernicious stuff. Since the nineteenth century, these are some of the many concerned, comments critics have made about media for children. From dime novels to comic books to digital media, Cassidy illustrates the ways children have used "old media" when they were first introduced as "new media." Further, she interrogates the extent to which different conceptions of childhood have influenced adults' reactions to children's use of media. Exploring the history of American children and media, this text presents a portrait of the way in which children and adults adapt to a constantly changing media environment. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Children and Media in the Early United States 1

Changing Conceptions of Childhood 2

Print Media and Children in the Early Nineteenth Century 4

Changes on the Way 9

2 The Mass Press 12

Information Explosion 13

The Penny Press 14

The Penny Press and Children 18

Some Good News 20

Cheap Fiction 22

Concerns About Children and Cheap Fiction 26

Maybe It's Not So Bad? 31

Cheap Fiction as a Point of Entry to "Better" Fiction 32

Amateur Journalism 35

Turbulent Times 39

3 Beyond Story Papers and Dime Novels: Flash and Fancy 44

Racy Publications 44

Cleanup Efforts 49

Public Amusements 54

4 The Rise of Mass Media and Youth Culture in the Twentieth Century 58

Film 60

Radio 66

5 Midcentury Media and Turbulent Teens 75

Rock & Roll 76

Comic Books 79

TV Time 85

6 Television Takes Center Stage 87

Enter Television 87

Early Research on Children and Television 88

Television in the Lives of Our Children 89

The Research Continues 91

The Surgeon Generals' Reports 92

The Medium Is the Message 94

Later Evolution of Television 96

7 Twenty-First Century Childhood and Digital Media 99

The Next-Best Thing in an Age of Limited Freedom 100

Testing the Waters of Independence 101

Protecting Privacy 103

Competition Between Parents and Media for Children's Attention 104

Looking Back ... Looking Forward 105.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781138849921

1138849928

9781138849914

113884991X

OCLC:

1001363792