Page 108 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

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NDCON, RICHARD M.
major newspapers, the news magazines, and network television undoubtedly
would have become more subdued.
SOURCES: Anthony Lewis, Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment,
1992; Deckle McLean, "The Origins of the Actual Malice Test," Journalism Quarterly
62: 750-754 (1985); New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 1964.
Guido H. Stempel HI

NIMMO, DAN (1933- ) is the most prolific author on political communication
today. He has written, coauthored, or coedited at least 24 books on the subject.
A native of Springfield, Missouri, Nimmo studied journalism at the University
of Missouri before taking his master's (1956) and Ph.D. (1962) degrees at Van-
derbilt.
His first book, Newsgathering in Washington (1964) was an extensive study
of the relationship between public relations and officials and the press in the
capital. His second book, American Political Patterns: Conflict and Consensus,
written in 1967 with Thomas D. Ungs, was released in revised editions in 1969
and 1973. His third book, The Political Persuaders: The Techniques of Modern
Election Campaigns (1970) detailed how the modern political consulting indus-
try descended from the public relations profession of the 1920s and how its
advocacy techniques have become the mainstay of American politics. His most
recent work, coauthored with James E. Combs in 1996, is a lighthearted look
at the subject entitled, The Comedy of Democracy.
Nimmo has written extensively on the use of political symbols, how they
have evolved, and how they are used to formulate public opinion. Complex
issues are often reduced to powerful symbols in a single word or phrase, such
as abortion, gun control, or busing, he asserts, as can inanimate objects such as
the flag. These symbols can be used to arouse public support on issues.
SOURCES: Contemporary Authors, CD-ROM; Robert E. Denton, Jr., and Gary C.
Woodward, Political Communication in America, 1985.
Marc Edge

NIXON, RICHARD M. (1913-1994) was probably more critical of the media
than any other president and used criticism of the media as a political issue. He
also was criticized a great deal by the press, and that began before he was
president. His role as a senator in the investigation of Alger Hiss in 1950 brought
criticism. In 1952, when he was running for vice president, his campaign fi-
nances were questioned so strongly that there was speculation he might be
dropped from the Republican ticket. He rescued himself with the famous
"Checkers" speech on television.
He continued to be criticized for his actions as vice president. The most
notable incident came when, in a speech at the convention of the American
Society of Newspaper Editors in 1954, he suggested that American troops might