University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Departmental Papers (ASC) Annenberg School for Communication 6-1-2001 Defending the American Dream: Coverage of the Jonathan Pollard Spy Case Barbie Zelizer University of Pennsylvania,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/asc_papers Part of the Journalism Studies Commons Recommended Citation Zelizer, B. (2001). Defending the American Dream: Coverage of the Jonathan Pollard Spy Case. Qualitative Sociology, 24 (2), 203-220. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010722225840 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/asc_papers/71 For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Defending the American Dream: Coverage of the Jonathan Pollard Spy Case Abstract This article contemplates the journalistic coverage of American espionage as an attempt to maintain consonance with broader cultural discourses about what it means to be an American. Tracking the American press coverage of the Jonathan Pollard spy case, the article demonstrates that the press turns espionage into a phenomenon upholding fundamental American beliefs in openness, sincerity, and straightforwardness. It shows that, rather than represent espionage as a phenomenon embodying deceit, secrecy, and immoral action, the press turns espionage into a phenomenon that communicates that one is what one says one is and that one's self presentation reflects one's insides. Ultimately, however, this representation of espionage undermines a full understanding of how - and why - spying works in culture. Disciplines Communication | Journalism Studies This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/asc_papers/71 Defending the American Dream: Coverage of the Jonathan Pollard Spy Case Barbie Zelizer Abstract This article contemplates the journalistic coverage of American espionage as an attempt to maintain consonance with broader cultural discourses about what it means to be an American.