Martha Joynt Kumar's Books

Managing the President's Message

The White House Communications Operation

By: Martha Joynt Kumar

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Managing the President's Message

The White House Communications Operation

By: Martha Joynt Kumar

Winner, 2008 Richard E. Neustadt Award, Presidency Research Group organized section of the American Political Science Association Political scientists are rarely able to study presidents from inside the White House while presidents are governing, campaigning, and delivering thousands of speeches. It’s even rarer to find one who manages to get officials such as political adviser Karl Rove or presidential counselor Dan Bartlett to discuss their strategies while those strategies are under construction. But that is exactly what Martha Joynt Kumar pulls off in her fascinating new book, which draws on her first-hand reporting, interviewing, and original scholarship to produce analyses of the media and communications operations of the past four administrations, including chapters on George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Kumar describes how today’s White House communications and media operations can be at once in flux and remarkably stable over time. She describes how the presidential Press Office that was once manned by a single presidential advisor evolved into a multilayered communications machine that employs hundreds of people, what modern presidents seek to accomplish through their operations, and how presidents measure what they get for their considerable efforts. Laced throughout with in-depth statistics, historical insights, and you-are-there interviews with key White House staffers and journalists, this indispensable and comprehensive dissection of presidential communications operations will be key reading for scholars of the White House researching the presidency, political communications, journalism, and any other discipline where how and when one speaks is at least as important as what one says.

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381

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JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801899524

ISBN 13

9780801899522

Before the Oath

How George W. Bush and Barack Obama Managed a Transfer of Power

By: Martha Joynt Kumar

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Before the Oath

How George W. Bush and Barack Obama Managed a Transfer of Power

By: Martha Joynt Kumar

An expert on presidential transitions illuminates the factors necessary for a successful handoff. Winner of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of the Choice ACRL It's one of the hallmarks of American democracy: on inauguration day, the departing president heeds the will of the people and hands the keys to power to a successor. The transition from one administration to the next sounds simple, even ceremonial. But in 2009, as President George W. Bush briefed President-elect Barack Obama about the ongoing wars and plummeting economy he'd soon inherit, the Bush team revealed that they were grappling with a late-breaking threat to the presidency: U.S. intelligence sources believed that a terror group with links to Al Qaeda planned to attack the National Mall during the inaugural festivities. Although this violence never materialized, its possibility made it clear that well-laid contingency plans were essential. Political scientist Martha Joynt Kumar uncovered this secret peril while interviewing senior Bush and Obama advisers for her latest book. In Before the Oath, Kumar documents how two presidential teams—one outgoing, the other incoming—must forge trusting alliances in order to help the new president succeed in his or her first term. Kumar enjoyed unprecedented access to several incumbent and candidate transition team members, and she combines in-depth scholarship with one-on-one interviews to put readers squarely behind the scenes. Using the Bush-Obama handoff as a lens through which to examine the presidential transition process, Kumar interweaves examples from previous administrations as far back as Truman-Eisenhower. Her subjects describe in vivid detail the challenges of sowing campaign ideals across a sprawling executive branch as Congress, the media, and external events press in. Kumar's lively account of lessons learned and pitfalls encountered during past presidential transitions provides an essential road map for presidential aspirants and their advisers, as well as campaign workers, federal employees, and political appointees.

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Page Count

331

Publisher

JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1421416603

ISBN 13

9781421416601

Portraying the President

The White House and the News Media

By: Michael Grossman,Martha Joynt Kumar

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Portraying the President

The White House and the News Media

By: Michael Grossman,Martha Joynt Kumar

The media have become principal actors on the American political scene. Politicians and their press secretaries release news items with one eye on the event and the other on the millions of voters who depend on the White House press corps to keep them informed about the workings of their government. Portraying the President explores the inner workings of the relationship between the White House and the press. Rather than emphasize the well-publicized sparring between inquisitive reporters and evasive administrative spokesmen intent on enhancing the President's public image, the authors stress the vast amount of cooperation between journalists and their sources. They point out the similarities of the White House-media relationship in recent administrations and suggest what shape it is likely to take in the future. The authors also address the key issues of information management and manipulation by both the administration and the press. Grossman and Kumar demonstrate that, whether a lower level staff member leaks a news item to elevate his own status or an official spokesman mentions a new policy proposal in order to gather support, the release of information to the White House press corps involves complicated strategies among a number of administrative personnel. Washington reporters, aware of some of these tactics, compensate by cultivating personal sources and trading information with officials. Nevertheless, the routine nature of White House reporting and the competitiveness of modern news organizations often trap the reporter into what has been called "pack journalism." Interviews with current and former White House reporters, including Bob Schieffer, Tom Brokaw, James Naughton, James Reston, and John Osborne, give Portraying the President an authentic, firsthand sound and feel. Comments from Ron Nessen, Gerald Rafshoon, Jody Powell, and other presidential spokesmen and advisors, give insight into White House operations during the Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations. Portraying the President provides information vital to an appreciation of the modern American political system. Its thought-provoking conclusions will be of interest political scientists, media specialists, and anyone interested in current affairs.

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Page Count

410

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801823757

ISBN 13

9780801823756

Columns to Characters

The Presidency and the Press Enter the Digital Age

By: Peter Baker,Martha Joynt Kumar,Rita Kirk,David Demarest,Roderick P Hart,Thomas M. DeFrank,Stephen A Smith,Tony Pedersen,Robert W Mong,George C Edwards,Jennifer Mercieca,Stacia Deshishku

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Columns to Characters

The Presidency and the Press Enter the Digital Age

By: Peter Baker,Martha Joynt Kumar,Rita Kirk,David Demarest,Roderick P Hart,Thomas M. DeFrank,Stephen A Smith,Tony Pedersen,Robert W Mong,George C Edwards,Jennifer Mercieca,Stacia Deshishku

The relationship between the presidency and the press has transformed—seemingly overnight—from one where reports and columns were filed, edited, and deliberated for hours before publication into a brave new world where texts, tweets, and sound bites race from composition to release within a matter of seconds. This change, which has ultimately made political journalism both more open and more difficult, brings about many questions, but perhaps the two most important are these: Are the hard questions still being asked? Are they still being answered? In Columns to Characters, Stephanie A. Martin and top scholars and journalists offer a fresh perspective on how the evolution of technology affects the way presidents interact with the public. From Bill Clinton’s saxophone playing on the Arsenio Hall Show to Barack Obama’s skillful use of YouTube, Twitter, and Reddit as the first “social media president,” political communication appears to reflect the increasing fragmentation of the American public. The accessible essays here explore these implications in a variety of real-world circumstances: the “narcotizing” numbness of information overload and voter apathy; the concerns over privacy, security, and civil liberties; new methods of running political campaigns and mobilizing support for programs; and a future “post-rhetorical presidency” in which the press is all but irrelevant. Each section of the book concludes with a “reality check,” a short reflection by a working journalist (or, in one case, a former White House insider) on the presidential beat.

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296

Publisher

Texas A&M University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1623495636

ISBN 13

9781623495633

Presidential Power

Forging the Presidency for the Twenty-first Century

By: Robert Y. Shapiro,Martha Joynt Kumar,Lawrence R. Jacobs

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Presidential Power

Forging the Presidency for the Twenty-first Century

By: Robert Y. Shapiro,Martha Joynt Kumar,Lawrence R. Jacobs

A collection of essays that reevaluates Richard Neustadt's place in presidential studies and shows that, while Neustadt's classic work remains a beacon for the study of the presidency, it no longer offers a reliable roadmap embodying the consensus among contemporary scholars.

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544

Publisher

Columbia University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0231109326

ISBN 13

9780231109321

Managing the President's Message

The White House Communications Operation

By: Martha Joynt Kumar

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Managing the President's Message

The White House Communications Operation

By: Martha Joynt Kumar

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

381

Publisher

JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801899524

ISBN 13

9780801899522

Before the Oath

How George W. Bush and Barack Obama Managed a Transfer of Power

By: Martha Joynt Kumar

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Before the Oath

How George W. Bush and Barack Obama Managed a Transfer of Power

By: Martha Joynt Kumar

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

331

Publisher

JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1421416603

ISBN 13

9781421416601

Portraying the President

The White House and the News Media

By: Michael Grossman,Martha Joynt Kumar

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Portraying the President

The White House and the News Media

By: Michael Grossman,Martha Joynt Kumar

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Page Count

410

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Johns Hopkins University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801823757

ISBN 13

9780801823756

Presidential Power

Forging the Presidency for the Twenty-first Century

By: Robert Y. Shapiro,Martha Joynt Kumar,Lawrence R. Jacobs

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Presidential Power

Forging the Presidency for the Twenty-first Century

By: Robert Y. Shapiro,Martha Joynt Kumar,Lawrence R. Jacobs

Building on Richard Neustadt's work "Presidential Power: the Politics of Leadership", this work offers reflections and implications from what has been learned about presidential power. Each essay takes a different look at the state of the American presidency.

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544

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Columbia University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0231109334

ISBN 13

9780231109338

Columns to Characters

The Presidency and the Press Enter the Digital Age

By: Peter Baker,Martha Joynt Kumar,Rita Kirk,David Demarest,Roderick P Hart,Thomas M. DeFrank,Stephen A Smith,Tony Pedersen,Robert W Mong,George C Edwards,Jennifer Mercieca,Stacia Deshishku

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Columns to Characters

The Presidency and the Press Enter the Digital Age

By: Peter Baker,Martha Joynt Kumar,Rita Kirk,David Demarest,Roderick P Hart,Thomas M. DeFrank,Stephen A Smith,Tony Pedersen,Robert W Mong,George C Edwards,Jennifer Mercieca,Stacia Deshishku

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Page Count

296

Publisher

Texas A&M University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1623495636

ISBN 13

9781623495633

Book's by Martha Joynt Kumar

Managing the President's Message

Managing the President's Message

Before the Oath

Before the Oath

Portraying the President

Portraying the President

Columns to Characters

Columns to Characters

Presidential Power

Presidential Power

Managing the President's Message

Managing the President's Message

Before the Oath

Before the Oath

Portraying the President

Portraying the President

Presidential Power

Presidential Power

Columns to Characters

Columns to Characters

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