Book Reviews : Congress and the News Media. Edited By ROBERT O. BLANCHARD. (New York: Hastings House, 1974. $14.95.)

• Author: Raymond G. Davis
• Published date: 01 December 1974
• Date: 01 December 1974
• DOI: 10.1177/106591297402700422
• Subject Matter: Articles

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as it relates to the author’s model of consensual decision-making. In these chapters
Kingdon links together his findings into an innovative explanatory model of deci-
sion making which focuses on the decisional process, not individual actors, and
explores further the relationship between decision making, agenda building, and
communication. The consensual model of decision making is the most important
aspect of this study; a model that is &dquo;must&dquo; reading, for it will probably stimulate
other studies of Congress and other political bodies.
Because of the specialized nature of this work, the book may be too narrowly
focused for use in an introductory course on Congress. However, the book deserves
serious consideration for use in an advanced or graduate course. Also, many will
find the detailed and exceptionally clear explanation of methodology an excellent
example of a carefully designed and executed research project.
Some undergraduates may feel that the first parts of the book are repetitive
and slow reading; others may complain of the publisher’s decision to use small
type. However, the repetition is primarily the result of a very thorough analysis of
the variables affecting decision making. In this sense, then, it is somewhat similar
to the earlier chapters of Fenno’s study of the appropriations committees.
Overall, John Kingdon’s Congressmen’s Voting Decisions is a significant addi-
tion to our understanding of congressional behavior, and may become a seminal
work in the area of decision making in Congress.
BRUCE M. HASTON
Humboldt State University
Congress and the News Media. Edited By ROBERT O. BLANCHARD. (New York:
Hastings House, 1974. $14.95.)
Most of the literature written about national institutions or processes and the
news media concerns the presidency. In addition, most of the literature tends to
explore a facet of the relationship with the news media, e.g. the presidential news
conference or the media and the President’s conduct of...