Las Vegas: Media and Myth

(Paperback)

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Description

With its tremendous population growth, transient lifestyle, and penchant for extravagant behavior, Las Vegas, Nevada is a sociological phenomenon full of mystery and misunderstanding. Las Vegas: Media and Myth explores the ways in which the local media help to weave together the lives of the people who live in this dynamic community. Author Lawrence J. Mullen uses interviews with numerous persons who work in the local media to create a new oral history of Las Vegas and give voice to the city's inhabitants. An examination of the newspaper, television, radio, and political dimensions of Las Vegas gives new perspective to life in this fascinating place.

Reviews

A rich collection of mostly uniterrupted oral history accounts, each of them presented in first person....Mullen's book should be welcomed by not only Las Vegas locals with a firsthand connection to the local media and political scene, but by anyone fascinated by the relationship between media and culture. -- 2008 * American Journalism: A Media History Journal *
Mullen's interviews, as a whole, provide a surprising cohesive image of the 'true' Las Vegas. * H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online *
As someone once fully embedded in the mass media scene of Las Vegas (but surely couldn't afford the nervous energy now), I was fascinated by Lawrence Mullen's rich account of the hidden history of America's most controversial city. Mullen explodes the ingrained myths and tells where the proverbial media-related 'bodies are buried,' then exhumes and drags the tired cadavers center stage; out into the bright, neon lights, exploring some unseemly, even shadowy behavior along the way. In a place famous for imploding structures to make room for grander ones, Mullen provides an antidote to outdated media images, demystifying legends. He also focuses on a now flourishing mass media environmentone experiencing exponential growthalong with his amazing city. -- Mike Murray, UM Board of Curator's Distinguished Professor; founding director, UNLV Greenspun School of Journalism; author ofThe Political Pe

Author Bio

Lawrence J. Mullen is associate professor of journalism and media studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.