Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The purpose of Martin's book is to inform people of the politics of work and to inform people that unions are not just, "belligerent organizations that protect lazy, unproductive workers". It could be read by anyone, however; it is aimed toward people who have developed a biased opinion due to the media and therefore, the book is meant to inform and persuade. This book would also be suitable for people who do not know a lot about labor unions because Martin explains what they are, not just the connection they have with the media. Martin researched and wrote about labor and the media for ten years, he is a professor at the University of Iowa, and he knows a lot of professors from other highly respected universities. One such school is the University of Michigan where he attended. Many professors contributed their knowledge to this book. Therefore, this book is very credible. Martin explains the strikes and issues in chronological order and uses pictures, quotes, and statistics to aid in his argument. This helps the reader learn and understand better because the book is organized, the pictures are interesting, and the quotes and statistics keep you aware that the material is credible. The book was published in 2004 and all of the issues discussed took place no earlier than the 1990s. My connection to the book is that my mom is an American Airlines Flight Attendant and a supporter of labor unions.
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Christopher R. Martin argues that the mainstream news media (and the large corporations behind them) put the labor movement in a bad light even while avoiding the appearance of bias. Martin has found that the news media construct "common ground" narratives between labor and management positions by reporting on labor relations from a consumer perspective.Martin identifies five central storytelling frames using this consumer orientation that repeatedly emerged in the news media coverage of major labor stories in the 1990s: the 1991–94 shutdown of the General Motors Willow Run Assembly Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan; the 1993 American Airlines flight attendant strike; the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, the 1997 United Parcel Service strike, and the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization's conference in Seattle.In Martin's view, the news media's consumer "take" on the labor movement has the effect of submerging issues of citizenship, political activity, and class relations, and elevating issues of consumption and the myth of a class-free America. Instead of facilitating a public sphere, the democratic ideal in which the public can engage in discovery and rational-critical debate, Martin says, news organizations have fostered a consumer sphere, in which public discourse and action is defined in terms of consumer interests—the impact of strikes, lock-outs, shut-downs, and protests on the general consumer economy and the price, quality, and availability of things such as automobiles, airline flights, and baseball tickets.
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