Influencing Machine (book)
The cover to the hardcover edition of The Influencing Machine.
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| Author | Brooke Gladstone |
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| Illustrator | Josh Neufeld |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Media |
| Genre | Comics, Journalism, Media Studies, Communication |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton |
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Publication date
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May 2011 |
| Media type | hardcover, paperback |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 668194783 |
The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media is a nonfiction graphic novel by journalist Brooke Gladstone and cartoonist Josh Neufeld. Gladstone describes the book as "a treatise on the relationship between us and the news media," further described by the New York Observer as "a manifesto on the role of the press in American history as told through a cartoon version of herself." The title of the book refers to "On the Origin of the 'Influencing Machine' in Schizophrenia," a 1919 article written by psychoanalyst Viktor Tausk.
The Influencing Machine was released in hardcover in May 2011. A paperback edition with a new cover was released in May 2012.
Much in the vein of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, Gladstone appears in the book as an illustrated character, taking the reader through two millennia of history — from the newspapers in Caesar's Rome to the penny press of the American Revolution and the activities of contemporary journalism. Issues discussed include bias, objectivity, misinformation, ethics, and a large chapter on war reporting. In a reference to the Trausk's "Influencing Machine," the book debunks the notion that “The Media” is an external force, outside of our control. Instead, it posits that the media is a mirror — sometimes a distorted one — reflecting society's beliefs and morals back at itself.
The Influencing Machine received recognition from magazines, newspapers, and websites such as The New Yorker,National Public Radio, the Associated Press,The Nation,Columbia Journalism Review, and many others.
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