Praise for Abortion Politics, Mass Media, and Social Movements in America

"Deana Rohlinger's Abortion Politics, Mass Media, and Social Movements in America is a powerful analysis of one of the most important social movements of the past several decades. By tracing the strategies of pro-life and pro-choice organizations and their efforts to shape the mass media, she develops new insights on the politics of news. Rohlinger rightly points out that most scholarship has been concerned with predicting whether movements get covered by the news media. She shows that movement leaders have a more nuanced view of the opportunities and pitfalls associated with media coverage. As a result, groups often pursue strategies that circumvent or deflect mainstream media attention or build alternative channels of communication. The book will be widely read and debated for its innovative analysis that gets inside the strategies of social movements."
Kenneth Andrews, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

"A groundbreaking account of how movements for and against abortion have shaped the way the media covers them. Abortion Politics, Mass Media, and Social Movements in America takes us behind the scenes as abortion activists develop media strategies that sometimes strengthen - and sometimes doom - their efforts. Essential reading for anyone interested in the influence of mass media on modern America politics."
Kathleen Blee, University of Pittsburgh

"Abortion Politics, Mass Media, and Social Movements in America takes aim at the media strategies and dilemmas of social movement organizations. This important book provides the best treatment to date of the public debate over the abortion controversy, from the point of view of four key organizations on opposing sides, and reveals surprising findings about how their media strategies played out. This insider’s account of media strategy and results is an impressive achievement and will be of great interest to scholars and activists alike."
Edwin Amenta, University of California, Irvine

Summary of Abortion Politics, Mass Media, and Social Movements in America

Weaving together analyses of archival material, news coverage, and interviews conducted with journalists from mainstream and partisan outlets as well as with activists across the political spectrum, Deana A. Rohlinger reimagines how activists use a variety of mediums, sometimes simultaneously, to agitate for – and against – legal abortion. Rohlinger’s in-depth portraits of four groups – the National Right to Life Committee, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the National Organization for Women, and Concerned Women for America – illuminate when groups use mass media to forward their goals and why they might choose to avoid media attention altogether. Rohlinger expertly reveals why some activist groups are more desperate than others to attract media attention and sheds light on what this means for policy making and legal abortion in the twenty-first century.

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