ABSTRACT
The press constitutes a potent instrument for the conquest, the preservation, and the consolidation of power on the part of the leaders. The press is the most suitable means of diffusing the fame of the individual leaders among the masses, for popularizing their names. The press can be used with effect to influence public opinion by cultivating a "sensation" —a point in which modern party democracy exhibits a fundamental trait which it shares with Bonapartism. The democratic press is also utilized by the leaders in order to make attacks upon their adversaries; or to launch grave accusations against persons of note in the world of politics or finance. The manner in which the leaders make use of the press to secure their domination naturally varies from one country to another in accordance with variation in national customs. In all cases the press remains in the hands of the leaders and is never controlled by the rank and file.
