Kevin M Lerner | Marist College (original) (raw)

Books by Kevin M Lerner

Two of these new journalists, a Pulitzer Prize—winning, Harvard-educated New York Times reporter named J. Anthony Lukas, and a former Newsweek media writer named Richard Pollak, founded a journalism review called (MORE) in 1971, with its pilot issue appearing the same month that the Times began publishing the Pentagon Papers. (MORE) covered the press with a critical attitude that blended seriousness and satire—part New York Review of Books, part underground press. In the eight years that it published, (MORE) brought together nearly every important American journalist of the 1970s, either as a writer, a subject of its critical eye, or as a participant in its series of raucous "A.J. Liebling Counter-Conventions"—meetings named after the outspoken press critic—the first of which convened in 1974. In issue after issue the magazine considered and questioned the mainstream press's coverage of explosive stories of the decade, including the Watergate scandal; the "seven dirty words" obscenity trial; the debate over a reporter's constitutional privilege; the rise of public broadcasting; the struggle for women and minorities to find a voice in mainstream newsrooms; and the U.S. debut of press baron Rupert Murdoch.

In telling the story of (MORE) and its legacy, Kevin Lerner explores the power of criticism to reform and guide the institutions of the press and, in turn, influence public discourse.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles by Kevin M Lerner

Journalism Practice, 2019

In 1974, the media and cultural studies scholar James W. Carey Press criticism; New York called f... more In 1974, the media and cultural studies scholar James W. Carey Press criticism; New York called for the development of a culture of press criticism, engaging with daily journalism at the same level of analysis of language that literary critics use when assessing literature. This paper examines Carey’s call in light of both the developments in journalistic criticism since his writing as well as other scholarly attempts to assess press criticism. Finding a lack of humanistic approaches to assessing press criticism, this paper distills Carey’s essay into a more readily usable rubric for the assessment of the critical conversations surrounding journalism, identifying six dimensions of analysis by which to judge the criticism, with a focus on the criticism of language and a dialogic relationship between the press and the public. Finally, the paper applies the rubric to a case study of the response to a New York Times profile of a white nationalist. Dozens of works of criticism—public commentary, essays by scholars, satire, and public discussion— were published in response to the piece. This paper concludes that the beginnings of Carey’s culture of criticism may finally exist, aided by social media tools that allow a broader public to participate in the critical conversation.

American Journalism, 2018

In the late 1960s, the New York Times granted the business and organizational scholar Chris Argyr... more In the late 1960s, the New York Times granted the business and organizational scholar Chris Argyris unprecedented access to its newsroom and the newspaper’s management, agreeing to let Argyris assess the paper’s leadership structures and to make recommendations. Argyris found the Times to be the most sclerotic, unchangeable organization he had ever worked with, and the newspaper abandoned the idea of adopting his reforms. Nevertheless, Argyris ended up forcing the Times to examine itself when the book he wrote about his experiences—which he published without revealing the newspaper’s name—was decoded by a journalism review called (MORE). Though his press criticism was accidental, Argyris’s work still fits squarely in the traditions of newsroom ethnography and in Wendy Wyatt’s discourse model of press criticism.

This study explores how support for journalistic anti-intellectualism is condoned in the views of... more This study explores how support for journalistic anti-intellectualism is condoned in the views of emerging adults in the United States as they develop attitudes toward news, audiences, and authority. Anti-rationalism and anti-elitism as cultural expressions of anti-intellectualism correlate as expected with approval of corresponding news practices. Identification with professional roles generally fails to inoculate college students against the endorsement of journalistic anti-rationalism and anti-elitism. With the exception of the adversarial function, role identities appear to justify journalistic anti-intellectualism beyond the influence of cultural anti-intellectualism. While reflexivity is often viewed as conducive to critical thinking, affinity for transparency in news work associates with a populist suspicion of intellectuals and their ideas.

In 1972, The New York Times adopted the policy of running daily corrections in a fixed part of th... more In 1972, The New York Times adopted the policy of running daily corrections in a fixed part of the paper. The idea of corrections, and a call for increased accountability more generally, had been circulating for a few years. This article examines internal communication from the Times that sheds light on how the paper's editor, A.M. Rosenthal, made the decision to turn the idea into policy. A number of factors, including an essay by Daniel Patrick Moynihan and prodding by the journalism reviews (MORE) and The Columbia Journalism Review, influenced Rosenthal. Wendy Wyatt's discursive theory of press criticism and Daniel Hallin's spheres of consensus, controversy, and deviance inform this article's discussion of how outside influence works. Coming from the " paper of record, " the Times's decision to enact the corrections policy had a snowball effect, and within a few years, running a regular corrections box became commonplace among American newspapers.

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters (Edited Volumes) by Kevin M Lerner

Media Nation: The Political History of News in Modern America, 2017

The Funniest Pages: International Perspectives on Journalism and Humor

Although very little academic research has addressed Spy and its legacy, press critics have regul... more Although very little academic research has addressed Spy and its legacy, press critics have regularly either lauded the magazine for its inventiveness or blamed it for the proliferation of mean, snarky journalism, particularly online. However, an examination of the peak years of Spy’s output demonstrates that while the snarky tone of Spy’s prose may have influenced web journalism, that form has metasta- sized since Spy perfected it. One consistent factor separates Spy from the vapid, unsupported snark that contemporary critics see rooted in the pages of Spy: the stories in that magazine, as mean and funny as they could be, were, at their best, backed up by persistent, careful reporting and hard fact.

Dissertation by Kevin M Lerner

This dissertation tells the history of (MORE), a journalism review founded and run by a group of ... more This dissertation tells the history of (MORE), a journalism review founded and run by a group of journalists who found themselves constrained by the professional norms of their employers and their profession. In telling (MORE)’s story, the dissertation tells a part of the story of the organized press in America in the bulk of the 1970s, and some of its interactions with that decade’s cultural convulsions. The dissertation takes a historical approach, telling (MORE)’s story through the use of the magazine itself as primary text; oral history interviews with surviving editors, contributors and participants in the journalism review’s six “Counter-Conventions”; primary documents, including archival material from the records of news organizations and individuals involved with (MORE); and audio recordings of parts of the Counter-Conventions. These sources are supplemented by a body of secondary literature including contemporary news reports, other works of press criticism from the era and academic studies of press criticism and the history of the 1970s. The study of (MORE) provides insight into changes in journalistic professionalism in the 1970s, a key period after the rise of what Michael Schudson calls “the critical culture”; it investigates the role of press criticism in the functioning of the press and the effects, both direct and implied, that press criticism has on mainstream publications; it will trace some of the roots of the professional press’s increasing self- awareness in response to rampant anti-intellectualism among its members; and, using the ideas of these self-aware journalists as a guide, it begins to trace the outline of an intellectual history of the 1970s. This dissertation advances four main arguments regarding (MORE) and the national and journalistic cultures in which it operated: 1. (MORE) changed the nature of press criticism, and began its diffusion into the culture. 2. (MORE) changed the way journalists thought about themselves and their profession. 3. (MORE) influenced the way the organized press practiced its trade at a time when the industry was reshaping itself. 4. (MORE) reflects broader changes in society in the 1970s.

Book Reviews by Kevin M Lerner

American Journalism, 2019

Book review of 'Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process.' John McPhee. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2017.

Review of Magazines and the Making of America: Modernization, Community, and Print Culture, 1741–... more Review of Magazines and the Making of America: Modernization, Community, and Print Culture, 1741–1860.Heather A. Haveman.Princeton University Press, 2015. 407pp. $45 hardcover

Review of Man in Profile: Joseph Mitchell of The New Yorker. Thomas Kunkel. (New York, NY: Random... more Review of Man in Profile: Joseph Mitchell of The New Yorker. Thomas Kunkel. (New York, NY: Random House, 2015). 366 pp. $30 hardcover.

American Journalism, Jun 9, 2015

Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, Aug 2011

Book review of 'Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction.' Jack Hart. Chica... more Book review of 'Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction.' Jack Hart. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. 280 pp. $25. hardback.

Journalism by Kevin M Lerner

'The Post' could win Best Picture, but it won't win for best history.

Like the media it covers, journalism criticism has moved from the work of a few established insti... more Like the media it covers, journalism criticism has moved from the work of a few established institutions to something more diffuse.

Conference Presentations by Kevin M Lerner

In 1974, the management scholar Chris Argyris published a book about the inner workings of The Ne... more In 1974, the management scholar Chris Argyris published a book about the inner workings of The New York Times, though he did so in a way that disguised the paper's identity and the identities of the editors and executives to whom he had unprecedented and nearly unlimited access for several years. Once decoded, the book provided an insight into the Times's reluctance to effect change in its management structure or editorial decisions (including the rancor behind the development of the Op-Ed Page), and exposed the un-self critical and anti-intellectual nature of the newspaper. This paper tells the story of Argyris's interaction with the Times through the use of the newspaper's archival documents and Argyris's book, and examines them in the context of anti-intellectualism and Wyatt's discursive theory of press criticism. In addition, the paper argues for the place of Argyris's book among the great newsroom ethnographies of the 1970s.

Essays by Kevin M Lerner

This number of The Journal of Magazine Media marks the end of an era. When the journal launched, ... more This number of The Journal of Magazine Media marks the end of an era. When the journal launched, it was one of very few journals of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication that published in a digital-only format. But with the next volume of The Journal of Magazine Media, we are taking a step into the future of the journal by taking a step into the past. We are moving to print.

Letter from the Editor, Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, vol. 17, no. 2, Winter 2017

In telling the story of (MORE) and its legacy, Kevin Lerner explores the power of criticism to reform and guide the institutions of the press and, in turn, influence public discourse.

Journalism Practice, 2019

American Journalism, 2018

Media Nation: The Political History of News in Modern America, 2017

The Funniest Pages: International Perspectives on Journalism and Humor

American Journalism, 2019

Book review of 'Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process.' John McPhee. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2017.

American Journalism, Jun 9, 2015

Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, Aug 2011

'The Post' could win Best Picture, but it won't win for best history.

Letter from the Editor, Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, vol. 17, no. 2, Winter 2017

Journalism & Communication Monographs

Journal of Magazine Media, 2017

Journalism, 2017

Journal of Magazine Media, 2015

Journal of Magazine Media, 2011

Journal of Magazine Media, 2017

Journal of Magazine Media, 2018

American Journalism, 2019

American Journalism, 2018

Journalism Practice, 2019

This dissertation tells the history of (MORE), a journalism review founded and run by a group of ... more This dissertation tells the history of (MORE), a journalism review founded and run by a group of journalists who found themselves constrained by the professional norms of their employers and their profession. In telling (MORE)'s story, the dissertation tells a part of the story of the organized press in America in the bulk of the 19&0s, and some of its interactions with that decade's cultural convulsions. The dissertation takes a historical approach, telling (MORE)'s story through the use of the magazine itself as primary text; oral history interviews with surviving editors, contributors and participants in the journalism review's six "Counter-Conventions"; primary documents, including archival material from the records of news organizations and individuals involved with (MORE); and audio recordings of parts of the Counter-Conventions. These sources are supplemented by a body of secondary literature including contemporary news reports, other works of press criticism from the era and academic studies of press criticism and the history of the 19&0s. The study of (MORE) provides insight into changes in journalistic professionalism in the 19&0s, a key period after the rise of what Michael Schudson calls "the critical culture"; it investigates the role of press criticism in the functioning of the press and the effects, both direct and implied, that press criticism has on mainstream publications; it will trace some of the roots of the professional press's increasing self- awareness in response to rampant anti-intellectualism among its members; and, using the ideas of these self-aware journalists as a guide, it begins to trace the outline of an intellectual history of the 19&0s. This dissertation advances four main arguments regarding (MORE) and the national and journalistic cultures in which it operated: 1. (MORE) changed the nature of press criticism, and began its diffusion into the culture. 2. (MORE) changed the way journalists thought about themselves and their profession. 3. (MORE) influence [...]

Journal of Magazine Media, 2017

The last two years of political discourse have seen a perceived rise in the quantity and vehemenc... more The last two years of political discourse have seen a perceived rise in the quantity and vehemence of attacks on the press in the United States, particularly from the Twitter account of President Donald Trump. Trump has picked up on a tradition of conservative attacks on the press that stretches at least to Vice President Spiro Agnew, who, along with speechwriter William Safire, coined a series of memorable terms for the press and other liberal “enemies” of the Nixon administration. In the half century since Agnew, these accusations that a liberal elite media is conspiring to undermine conservative politicians has waxed and waned, and the press has reliably reacted with outrage and an insistence that their reporting is, in fact, objective, not biased toward either of the major American political parties. In the last year however, respected press critics and reporters including Nate Silver at 538 and Jack Shafer of Politico have asserted that the American press does, in fact report f...

At the beginning of the 1970s, broadcast news and a few newspapers such as The New York Times wie... more At the beginning of the 1970s, broadcast news and a few newspapers such as The New York Times wielded national influence in shaping public discourse, to a degree never before enjoyed by the news media. At the same time, however, attacks from political conservatives such as Vice President Spiro Agnew began to erode public trust in news institutions, even as a new breed of college-educated reporters were hitting their stride. This new wave of journalists, doing their best to cover the roiling culture wars of the day, grew increasingly frustrated by the limitations of traditional notions of objectivity in news writing and began to push back against convention, turning their eyes on the press itself. Two of these new journalists, a Pulitzer Prize—winning, Harvard-educated New York Times reporter named J. Anthony Lukas, and a former Newsweek media writer named Richard Pollak, founded a journalism review called (MORE) in 1971, with its pilot issue appearing the same month that the Times began publishing the Pentagon Papers. (MORE) covered the press with a critical attitude that blended seriousness and satire—part New York Review of Books, part underground press. In the eight years that it published, (MORE) brought together nearly every important American journalist of the 1970s, either as a writer, a subject of its critical eye, or as a participant in its series of raucous "A.J. Liebling Counter-Conventions"—meetings named after the outspoken press critic—the first of which convened in 1974. In issue after issue the magazine considered and questioned the mainstream press's coverage of explosive stories of the decade, including the Watergate scandal; the "seven dirty words" obscenity trial; the debate over a reporter's constitutional privilege; the rise of public broadcasting; the struggle for women and minorities to find a voice in mainstream newsrooms; and the U.S. debut of press baron Rupert Murdoch. In telling the story of (MORE) and its legacy, Kevin Lerner explores the power of criticism to reform and guide the institutions of the press and, in turn, influence public discourse.

Journalism History, 2017

In 1972, The New York Times adopted the policy of running daily corrections in a fixed part of th... more In 1972, The New York Times adopted the policy of running daily corrections in a fixed part of the paper. The idea of corrections, and a call for increased accountability more generally, had been circulating for a few years. This article examines internal communication from the Times that sheds light on how the paper's editor, A.M. Rosenthal, made the decision to turn the idea into policy. A number of factors, including an essay by Daniel Patrick Moynihan and prodding by the journalism reviews (MORE) and The Columbia Journalism Review, influenced Rosenthal. Wendy Wyatt's discursive theory of press criticism and Daniel Hallin's spheres of consensus, controversy, and deviance inform this article's discussion of how outside influence works. Coming from the “paper of record,” the Times's decision to enact the corrections policy had a snowball effect, and within a few years, running a regular corrections box became commonplace among American newspapers.