Assault on the Media: The Nixon Years

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Porter, William E. & Mascaro, Thomas A. Assault on the Media: The Nixon Years. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2024, 660 pp., $49.95 (paperback). ISBN: 978-0-472-03922-7

Reviewed by Lisa M. Burns, Department of Media Studies, Quinnipiac University, lisa.burns@quinnipiac.edu

The relationship between U.S. presidents and the press has always featured some tension. While most chief executives respected the role of journalists in keeping American citizens informed, they often bristled at any coverage perceived to be negative. But the Nixon administration took things to the extreme, conducting a coordinated effort to discredit the news media that was chronicled in William E. Porter’s 1976 book, Assault on the Media: The Nixon Years. Based on the evidence available at the time, Porter detailed the Nixon administration’s systematic attack on journalism and “the media,” expressing concern about the potential long-lasting impact of the era’s anti-journalism propaganda. In the years since the book’s publication, the conservative antimedia rhetoric positioning journalists as liberal elites continued to flourish, culminating in Donald Trump’s claims that the “fake news media” were the  “enemy of the people” during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The current assault on the media prompted Thomas A. Mascaro, a student of Porter’s, to revisit his former professor’s work. In this updated edition of Assault on the Media, Mascaro draws upon scholarship and archival documents published in the last fifty years “to show that the tactics employed by the president [Nixon], his staff, and wealthy conservative supporters created an anti-journalism propaganda network that matured and threatened the future of American democracy well into the twenty-first century” (p. 6). Primary documents, particularly the diaries of H.R. Haldeman and the Pat Buchanan memos published by Lori Cox Han, highlight how prescient Porter was in his argument that the Nixon administration’s efforts to undermine the news media were concerted, calculated, and fueled by a deep distrust and desire to “get even” with journalists. 

This expanded edition includes Porter’s opening chapter and conclusion as originally written. For the other chapters, Mascaro provides a brief introduction and summary that helps contextualize the material followed by Porter’s initial insights. Then, each chapter finishes with Mascaro’s analysis that uses research and archival materials to extend Porter’s work while also considering how today’s attacks on journalism continue to threaten democracy. These additional sections highlight why Porter’s work still matters today. Mascaro also contributes three new chapters. “Prelude to the Assault” precedes Porter’s chapter on Nixon’s first year, offering important background information for today’s readers who were not alive or may not be familiar with the social, political, and cultural climate of the Nixon era. The book’s final two chapters “take up Porter’s challenge to reconsider the effects of the assault on journalism during the Nixon years and the struggles of academe to rein in galloping authoritarianism,” (p. 16) which continues today. Finally, the work contains a unique feature – “Documents of Significance” sections that include primary source materials for both Porter’s original edition and Mascaro’s updated version. Archival researchers, investigative journalists, and history nerds alike will appreciate being able to view the documents for themselves, 

What is most striking about this book is how it’s equally grounded in both history and our current times. While Porter was capturing a specific moment in time when the Nixon White House waged war on the media, his observations could easily be applied to the Trump administration. Meanwhile, as Mascaro highlights the similarities between Nixon’s and Trump’s efforts to undermine journalistic authority, it reminds readers that what’s past is prologue.       

The timing couldn’t be more perfect for this updated edition. Though it was published in 2024, it often seems like both Porter and Mascaro are reacting to the latest news from Trump’s second term. As Mascaro notes, “William Porter was too well grounded to consider himself a prophet, but in the twenty-first century, his words emerged as prophetic” (p. 12). It’s chilling at times how Porter’s analysis reflects what’s happening today. America is experiencing Porter’s biggest fear, that “the half-century assault on the media undercut and eroded democracy” (p. 375). Similarly, Mascaro predicts much of what has unfolded since Trump’s election, particularly his embrace of authoritarian rule. Yet the book is written in a way that won’t become dated even as the current assault on journalism and other democratic institutions continues.

This book is essential reading in our current political environment – for educators preparing the next generation of journalists and communication professionals, for students entering these professions at a precarious time, and for citizens concerned about preserving and defending democracy. The text could be used in a variety of classes including journalism/media history, political communication, and media law at either the graduate or advanced undergraduate level. Both Mascaro and Porter have engaging writing styles that are easy to understand.

Throughout the book, Mascaro shows great reverence for the original work and its author while also showcasing why he’s one of our leading media historians. This project was a daunting task. I think his former teacher would be very proud.