The West Wing and the American Presidency

The authors begin the article by noting that despite the pervasive news coverage of the American presidency, citizens do not generally gain access to the behind the scenes reality of the daily life of the president. The authors then make a very tenuous assertion, upon which their entire article is based: they assert that "the West Wing provides audience members with a view of the internal workings of the White House. This fictional show offers something to the American public that it cannot get from any other source: an insider's view of what it is like to be president on a daily basis" (Holbert et al, 506). This problematic statement is offered up front, without any kind of explanation of the short

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pushing the envelope between fact and fiction" (508). This sentence is problematic on many levels. First, it opens with a conditional statement justifying their study that is predicated on the belief that cartoon characters are more important for political communication than news anchorsùsomething that is well beyond the accepted norms. Second, it ascribes some deeper relevance to the West Wing than other television shows, saying that it clearly pushes the envelope between fact and fiction. In reality, the show is clearly fiction and is only loosely based on the actual political process. In arguing for the importance of the West Wing, the authors note its popularity, the fact that it has won many awards, and its longevity. They assert that "the picture of the American presidency offered on the program is qualitatively distinct from the messages citizens engage when consuming news content" (509). But of course, this would have to be true as it is a fictional show and not a real depiction of the presidencyùa fact the authors fail to point out. They also note that the show's creator and main writer "has made it clear that he does not wish for the program to reflect the most pressing policy issues facing the nation" (510).
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Approximate Word count = 1895
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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