24/7 Politics

How cable television upended American political life in the pursuit of profits and influence

As television began to overtake the political landscape in the 1960s, network broadcast companies, bolstered by powerful lobbying interests, dominated screens across the nation. Yet over the next three decades, the expansion of a different technology, cable, changed all of this. 24/7 Politics tells the story of how the cable industry worked with political leaders to create an entirely new approach to television, one that tethered politics to profits and divided and distracted Americans by feeding their appetite for entertainment-frequently at the expense of fostering responsible citizenship.

In this timely and provocative book, Kathryn Cramer Brownell argues that cable television itself is not to blame for today's rampant polarization and scandal politics-the intentional restructuring of television as a political institution is. She describes how cable innovations-from C-SPAN coverage of congressional debates in the 1980s to MTV's foray into presidential politics in the 1990s-took on network broadcasting using market forces, giving rise to a more decentralized media world. Brownell shows how cable became an unstoppable medium for political communication that prioritized cult followings and loyalty to individual brands, fundamentally reshaped party politics, and, in the process, sowed the seeds of democratic upheaval.

24/7 Politics reveals how cable TV created new possibilities for antiestablishment voices and opened a pathway to political prominence for seemingly unlikely figures like Donald Trump by playing to narrow audiences and cultivating division instead of common ground.

"A New Yorker Best Book We've Read This Year"
"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"
"Winner of the PROSE Award in Media and Cultural Studies, Association of American Publishers"
"Winner of the Eugenia M. Palmegiano Prize, American Historical Association"
"Brownell is an excellent historian, and her account of cable's evolution from the period right after World War II to the period right after the Cold War is among the best I have read."---Jesse Walker, Reason
"Brownell, a historian, details how the opponents of network broadcasting successfully cast the industry as ‘elitist’ and peddled cable as a democratizing force that would ‘empower people, politicians, and perspectives.’ Her persuasive account argues that cable’s advocates were, in fact, motivated primarily by profit, and that cable television’s Sisyphean pursuit of ratings and revenue ultimately served to cultivate a toxic media—and political—environment." New Yorker
"The book’s clear argument is conveyed through meticulous research blended with captivating stories, and the cast of characters ranges from franchise owners and lobbyists to policy wonks and presidents. This book provides a new way of looking at the familiar histories of both cable television and American electoral politics due to its impressive deep dives into pivotal moments where those two histories were tied together." Choice
"Brownell is a great writer, the subject is decidedly relevant, and the timing of the book’s publication is beyond prescient. . . . The consequence of cable television will be felt long after subscriptions fade to black. This makes 24/7 Politics a must read for those who are concerned about the crumbling of American unity and disintegration of agreed upon fact."---Alison Dagnes, Bucks County Beacon

Kathryn Cramer Brownell is associate professor of history at Purdue University and the author of Showbiz Politics: Hollywood in American Political Life.

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