Bill Israel

Bill Israel, Ph.D., is associate professor of journalism and political communication at St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas. He specializes in the study of media and power.

He began pursuing his work by reporting for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and online. He worked as reporter, editor, photojournalist or anchor for the Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, Dallas Morning News, USA Today, The New York Times, CBS Radio, ABC-TV, and other regional news outlets. He also worked as press secretary for politicians in Iowa, California, and Washington, D.C.

He earned a master's and doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught "Politics and the Press" with political strategist Karl Rove. Israel's book, A Nation Seized, connects what Rove taught to the rise of propaganda and the political Right, and the fall of mainstream news.

As a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Israel was honored for developing an innovative information technology program.

At St. Mary's University, Israel directs the graduate program in communication studies. He lives with his wife, Eileen Breslin, in San Antonio. He can be reached at bisrael@stmarytx.edu.