Danielle Sarver Coombs’s important study of media coverage of the 2012 Republican primaries should be a wake-up call for journalists and voters. For the mainstream media, Last Man Standing contains good news (their coverage mattered) and bad news (entertainment trumped substance). For voters, Coombs’s superb analysis of political coverage has a clear message: caveat emptor. A must-read for anyone who cares about the twin spectacles of high-stakes journalism and presidential politics.

Craig Flournoy, Associate Professor of Journalism, Southern Methodist University

This brief book is a case study of the media framing of a unique, at times bizarre, presidential primary campaign. Coombs presents in part a chronological narrative of media coverage of the blow-by-blow multicandidate marathon. The clear strength and main objective of the book is Coombs's focus on media framing of the candidates, issues, factions, interest groups, and election outcomes. She emphasizes that her focus is on the media rather than the Republicans. Particularly noteworthy is her examination of the coverage of 'Tea Party' activists, 'establishment' operatives, traditional Republicans, and 'conservative' groups. Throughout the campaign, the media established and focused its attention on controversy, gaffs, and consistent personal attacks. These squabbles consistently trumped media coverage of issues. Coombs's findings are based on a content analysis of 6,615 articles and transcripts of 'mainstream media' coverage of the Republican presidential candidate debates and primaries. These were the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post plus transcripts from three cable news networks--CNN, Fox Network, and MSNBC. This will make a nice addition to all libraries. It is well written overall and not burdened by academic jargon. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels.

Choice Reviews

The saturation coverage of today’s presidential campaigns in all forms of media leaves many people doubting that after the votes are cast there is anything left to say or learn about a race. Danielle Sarver Coombs’ Last Man Standing proves the cynics wrong. Her detailed analysis of the 2012 drama (and its prologue and aftermath) is a model of both careful scholarship and novelistic pacing. It will satisfy the academic, student, journalist and interested lay reader with interesting unheralded but crucial details and incisive analysis.

David D. Perlmutter, Dean and Professor of the College of Media & Communication, Texas Tech University, and author of Blogwars: The New Political Battleground