Welcome to the text-based version of the Media & Democracy website! This project was created by a student intern working with the North Carolina State Archives through the Youth Advocacy & Involvement Office Student Government Internship Program. The main version of the site, found here, is an interactive Flash exhibit. This text-based version has been provided as a printer-friendly and accessible alternative.

To begin viewing the exhibit, choose a section from the links below:

• introduction: about the project
• regulators & revolution: early media, 1765-1775
• mudslinging & party papers: the 1828 election
• picturing the news: the illustrated newspaper, 1860-1880
• yellow & white: the Spanish-American war & the 1898 election
• democracy at war: radio, print & world war II
• image is everything: television & politics in the 1960s
• the next generation: the internet and politics, 2004-2008
• conclusion: why do we study the media?

Or skip to the following:

• Index of All Materials
• Citations for All Materials
• Further Reading

Each section will have links at the top and bottom of the page you can use to jump to a particular record, or you can simply scroll down and view the exhibit material in order. Each page also contains links to every section, so there's no need to return to this page.

This exhibit examines the interaction between the media and politics. It is not a history of the actual topics discussed in the media, nor is it intended to make a statement about any particular politician, organization, or ideology. Every attempt has been made to avoid a bias towards any particular ideology. Any percieved bias in this exhibit represents the bias present in North Carolina's history and, consequently, in the holdings of the North Carolina State Archives. This exhibit does not represent the opinions of the North Carolina State Archives or the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.