Detailing the eroding line between "real" and "media" events, Fiske explores the media's treatment of the O. J. Simpson arrest and pretrial hearings, the L.A. uprisings, the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings, and the "family values" debate between Dan Quayle and Murphy Brown. He illustrates how African Americans, Korean Americans, Latinos, and women have succeeded in making their hitherto unheard voices heard and have influenced the nation's reaction to media events such as these.

Fiske also analyzes speeches by George Bush, Dan Quayle, and Pat Buchanan, along with media commentary by Rush Limbaugh and CNN's Greg LaMotte, to reveal what Americans successfully rejected in ushering out the Reagan era. Through his analysis of the contradictory and diverse voices that make up U.S. culture, Fiske traces the nation's swing away from Reaganism and offers urgent warnings for the future.