Ruthless Criticism
The first edition of Ruthless Criticism was released in 1993. Minnesota Archive Editions reprints long-out-of-print works using digital technology, and they are reprinted exactly as they were first published by the University of Minnesota Press.
Ruthless Criticism presents viewpoints and topics that are generally unexplored in orthodox history. It broadens the definition of media history to encompass less-studied forms of media as well as alternate interpretations of conventional forms of media.
An assortment of intellectual and theoretical viewpoints are represented in this anthology of unique research. Each one focuses on a distinct topic from a particular period, reflecting the range of media in the United States.
Solomon and McChesney begin by deconstructing and applying critical theory to the meanings of print in the colonial era. Following that, chapters look at the antebellum press's media ecology, the post-Civil War mainstream press's heavy concentration on profits, gender images in the labor press, the diversity of political viewpoints within the working-class press, and the establishment of a commercial press in the black community.
