SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION

An appeal to contemporary journalists to utilize the model of Walter Lippmann.

“Too often in today’s public discourse,” argues Ellis, “the power and use of words seem to be ignored and disregarded” by pundits and others who are rewarded for hyperbole, partisanship, and ad hominem polemics. This book, a byproduct of the author’s doctoral thesis in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin, urges journalists to turn to the example of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Walter Lippmann. Early chapters of the book offer biographical sketches of Lippmann’s life and legacy, from his work with the Woodrow Wilson administration to his venerable newspaper column “Today and Tomorrow.” The bulk of the book, though, centers on exploring the journalist’s eclectic ideology and the power of his linguistic/rhetorical style, whose legacy remains entrenched in society via terms like the Cold War and stereotype that he popularized. A central argument is that Lippmann embodied what the author terms “Real Advocacy Journalism,” which eschewed demagoguery and tribalism for a belief that “reason, logic, facts, truth, and clear and graphic language” were the “most effective instruments of public (mass) persuasion” as “society’s elite as well as ordinary citizens looked to him for direction.” Remarkably well-researched, the book uses Lippmann’s published work and personal papers as well as original interviews with Lippmann’s associates, from fellow journalists to his secretary. Unfortunately, in addition to a belabored overuse of the “Real Advocacy Journalism” trope, a deeper analysis of the massive changes in the journalistic landscape from the early to mid-20th century to the internet era isn’t sufficiently addressed. Despite its sometimes-hagiographic treatment of Lippmann, the book admirably demonstrates the value of using the famed 20th-century journalist in 21st-century conversations about public knowledge, journalistic ethics, and public persuasion. In a world of tweets, sound bites, and hot takes, the eloquence, nuance, and logical style of Lippmann, as convincingly displayed by Ellis, is a welcome respite.

A flawed but well-researched and convincingly argued case.