Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America

James Poniewozik

Liveright Publishing, Sep 10, 2019 - Political Science - 304 pages

New York Times Book Review • Notable Book of the Year
Washington Post • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2019
NPR.org • NPR 2019 Concierge
Slate • 10 Best Books of the Year
Chicago Tribune • Best Books of the Year
Publishers Weekly • 10 Best Books of the Year

Audience of One reframes America’s identity through the rattled mind of an insomniac, cable-news-junkie president.New York Times chief television critic James Poniewozik offers a “darkly entertaining” (Carlos Lozada, Washington Post) history of mass media from the early 1980s to today, demonstrating how a volcanic, camera-hogging antihero merged with America’s most powerful medium to become our forty-fifth president. In charting the seismic evolution of television from a monolithic mass medium into today’s fractious confederation of spite-and-insult media subcultures, Poniewozik reveals how Donald Trump took advantage of these historic changes by constantly reinventing himself: from a boastful cartoon zillionaire; to 1990s self-parodic sitcom fixture; to The Apprentice reality-TV star; and finally to Twitter-mad, culture-warring demagogue. Already lauded as a “brilliant and daring” (Annalisa Quinn, NPR) work that defines a generation, Audience of One emerges as a classic in cultural criticism.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - Susan.Macura - LibraryThing

This is a fascinating look at the development of television in America combined with the rise of Donald Trump from "businessman" to "reality TV star" to president. The author makes the argument that ...

Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America

User Review  - Book Verdict

In his first book, New York Times chief television critic Poniewozik turns his eye to an exploration of Donald Trump's symbiotic relationship with television, including how it became an essential part ...

About the author

James Poniewozik has been the chief television critic of the New York Times since 2015. He was previously the television and media critic for Time magazine and media columnist for Salon. He lives in Brooklyn.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America
• Author: James Poniewozik
• Publisher: Liveright Publishing, 2019
• ISBN: 1631494430, 9781631494437
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Presidents & Heads of State; Performing Arts / Television / History & Criticism; Political Science / American Government / Executive Branch; Social Science / Media Studies