
George Gerbner: The Man Who Counted Fear
From All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories by Joe Lex
May 29, 2026 · 1h 18m · Episode 494
About this episode
The episode discusses George Gerbner's insights on media narratives and their parallels to fascism.
BBB:LHWS #056 George Gerbner... ...was a Hungarian refugee and combat survivor who grew up through the start of European Fascism during the 1930s. His discovered that the power lay with those who controlled the narrative and tell the stories. He used violence as an example to spread his message, but a deeper reading shows that his concerns were that American media were starting to resemble the prefascist state he had known in his youth. Needless to say, he was a controversial figure for many years.
People in this episode
Host: Joe Lex
Guest: George Gerbner
Topics covered
- media influence
- narrative control
- fascism
- American media
- violence
- storytelling
Keywords
- George Gerbner
- media
- fascism
- narrative
- violence
- storytelling
- American media
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Hungary, America, Laurel Hill
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