Communication and Midterm Elections Media, Message, and Mobilization

by Hendricks, John Allen; Schill, Dan

• ISBN13: 9781137494528
• ISBN10: 1137494522
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-11-17
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book offers a comprehensive examination of contemporary US midterm elections through the lens of communications and media coverage. Using a wide variety of methods, this contributed volume covers the challenges unique to midterm elections. In the US, these elections do not receive the same amount of media attention and voter participation as presidential elections. However, their outcomes often have significant consequences.

This edited collection closely examines 2014 midterm election trends in media, messaging, and mobilization. The 2014 midterm election yielded several important trends, headlines, and milestones: Democrats suffered significant and humbling defeats, historically low turnout propelled a sweeping Republican wave, billions of dollars were spent airing millions of ads, unprecedented amounts of 'dark money' linked to outside groups was used to buy television advertisements, working-class white voters continued their decades-long defection from the Democratic Party, and Republicans devoted substantial time and resources to catch up with Democrats in the use of digital and social media. Communication and Midterm Elections features top scholars from leading research institutions using various methodologies to generate new understandings—both theoretical and practical—for students, researchers, journalists, and practitioners.

Author Biography

John Allen Hendricks (Ph.D., The University of Southern Mississippi) is Chair and Professor of Mass Communication at Stephen F. Austin State University, USA. He has authored/edited nine books including Presidential Campaigning and Social Media: An Analysis of the 2012 Campaign (with Dan Schill 2014), Communicator-in-Chief: How Barack Obama Used New Media Technology to Win the White House (with Robert E. Denton, Jr. 2010), and Techno Politics in Presidential Campaigning: New Voices, New Technologies, and New Voters (with Lynda Lee Kaid 2010).

Dan Schill (Ph.D., University of Kansas) is Associate Professor in the School of Communication Studies at James Madison University, USA where he teaches courses in advocacy, political communication, and media and politics. He has published two books on political communication topics, including Presidential Campaigning and Social Media: An Analysis of the 2012 Campaign (with John Allen Hendricks 2014) and Stagecraft and Statecraft: Advance and Media Events in Political Communication (2009). Schill was a 2009-2010 American Political Science Association (APSA) Congressional Fellow and often conducts dial focus groups for news organizations.

Table of Contents

PART I: THE 2014 ELECTION: ISSUES AND AGENDAS
1. Media, Message, And Mobilization: Political Communication In The 2014 Election Campaigns By Dan Schill And John Allen Hendricks
2. The Cult(Ure) Of Analytics In 2014 By Jessica Baldwin-Philippi
3. The 'Documented Voter': Voter Id Messaging In The 2014 Texas Midterm Election Byy Joshua M. Scacco, Regina G. Lawrence, And Ori Tenenboim
4. Common-Sense Protections Or Government Interference In Private Decisions?: Competing Media Frames In The Battle Over Tennessee's Abortion Amendment By Amy E. Jasperson, Charles Kelley, And Kirby Bennett
5. Political Communication And Affective Polarization In The 2014 Midterm Elections For The U.S. Senate: The Cases Of Iowa, North Carolina, And Georgia By Freddie J. Jennings, Rocío Galarza, And Benjamin R. Warner
PART II: MEDIA COVERAGE AND EFFECTS OF TELEVISION, NEWSPAPERS, AND LATE-NIGHT COMEDY SHOWS IN 2014
6. The 2014 Midterm Elections On Local Television: Frames, Sources And Valence By Daniela V. Dimitrova And Sisi Hu
7.Visual Framing Of 2014 U.S. Senate Campaign: Conflict Bias In News Coverage By Joan L. Conners
8. The Serious Business Of Late-Night Political Humor: Issue Salience In The 2014 Midterm Elections By Jody C Baumgartner And Jonathan S. Morris
PART III: TECHNOLOGY IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS
9. The Influence Of Twitter Posts On Candidate Credibility: The 2014 Michigan Midterms By Terri L. Towner
10. Picturing The Senate Candidates: Image-Building In The Twitterverse By Nicole Smith Dahmen
11. Personalization And Gender: 2014 Gubernatorial Candidates On Social Media By Regina G. Lawrence, Shannon Mcgregor, Arielle Cardona, And Rachel Mourao
PART IV: ADVERTISING IN THE 2014 POLITICAL PROCESS
12. Campaign Advertising In Florida's 2014 Gubernatorial Election: Candidate Images, Voter Enthusiasm, And Partisanship By David Lynn Painter And Tom Vizcarrondo
13. Midterm Voters: An Investigation Of Information Processing The Heuristic Systematic Processing Model And Of Political Advertisements By Lindsey A. Harvell And Gwen Nisbett
14. Blue Governors In Red States And Red Governors In Blue States By Hyun Jung Yun And Jae Hee Park