This text presents a cultural interpretation of the history of both traditional and nontraditional media, emphasizing that minority as well as mainstream media have impacted American history.

Voices of a Nation sets media history in the context of overall historical events and themes and tries to understand the role of media in a democratic society at varied historical points. Organized chronologically, the text recognizes the significant "voices" of such non-traditional media as suffrage newspapers, ethnic newspapers, and cultural movement papers and magazines.