Books by Randy Bobbitt

This book analyzes the history of book banning in K-12 classrooms and school libraries in the United States from the 1950s to the present. The author argues for the inclusion of controversial books in order to teach children to discover and debate values that are inconsistent with their own, rather than eliminating exposure to sensitive subjects.

Free Speech on America's K12 and College Campuses: Legal Cases from Barnette to Blaine covers the history of legal cases involving free speech issues on K12 and college campuses, mostly during the fifty-year period from 1965 through 2015. While this book deals mostly with high school and college newspapers, it also covers religious issues (school prayer, distribution of religious materials, and use of school facilities for voluntary Bible study), speech codes, free speech zones, self-censorship due to political correctness, hate speech, threats of disruption and violence, and off-campus speech, including social media. Randall W. Bobbitt provides a representative sampling of cases spread across the five decades and across the subject areas listed above. Recommended for scholars of communication, education, political science, and legal studies.

Examines the political debates and underlying communications strategies over proposed state lotteries that took place in the Southeastern US between 1986 and 2005. This book is based on research from thousands of media articles, government documents, and interviews with politicians, religious leaders, and journalists.

Rev. ed. of: Developing the public relations campaign. 2005.

Us against Them: The Political Culture of Talk Radio examines the phenomenon of talk radio and the role that it plays in the American political process as well as popular culture. Among the central questions addressed is a basic one regarding why people choose to listen to political talk instead of music. Do they listen to get objective information on both sides of political issues to help them make their own voting decisions, or do they seek out the hosts and content that simply validates their own beliefs? After a consideration of the history of talk radio as well as where the industry stands today in terms of audience demographics and advertiser support, Randy Bobbitt takes a theoretical look at how talk radio may or may have not impacted political issues and campaigns from the 1950s through the 2006 mid-term election, as well as the real impact of talk radio on the 2008 presidential campaign. Finally, Bobbitt considers the future of political talk radio in light of the newest threat to the First Amendment: the possible return of the Fairness Doctrine, a twentieth century law that once required broadcasters to provide politically balanced programming.