Communication in U.S. Elections New Agendas

by Hart, Roderick P.; Shaw, Daron R.; Althaus, Scott L.; Hetherington, Mark; Jarvis, Sharon; Klotz, Robert; Lipinski, Daniel; Richardson, Glenn; Scheufele, Dietram; Shah, Dhavan; Shaw, Daron; Simon, Adam; Valentino, Nick; Vavreck, Lynn

• ISBN13: 9780742500693
• ISBN10: 0742500691
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-23
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Over the past thirty-five years, the rapid development of communication technology, the decline of political parties, a growing culture of cynicism, and the rise of the Internet have all affected U.S. political campaigns. But while these forces seem powerful, little scientific evidence has been gathered of their impact. Communication in U.S. Elections presents work from some of the best young scholars in two disciplines--communication and political science--on how modern election campaigns are affected by such forces. The authors look at how voters acquire political information, how issues are framed for them by the mass media, how attitudes about social groups are created, and how political advertising uses popular culture to affect voting patterns. The result is a fresh and comprehensive overview of why modern political campaigns turn out as they do.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Roderick P. Hart
Communicating and Electing	1	(18)
Daron R. Shaw
Part I: Informing the Modern Electorate
Democracy for Some? How Political Talk Informs and Polarizes the Electorate	19	(14)
Dietram A. Scheufele
Who's Voted In When the People Tune Out? Information Effects in Congressional Elections	33	(22)
Scott L. Althaus
Part II: Media Frames in Contemporary Campaigns
The Collision of Convictions: Value Framing and Value Judgments	55	(20)
Dhavan V. Shah
A Unified Method for Analyzing Media Framing	75	(16)
Adam F. Simon
Part III: Interpersonal Judgments and Electoral Outcomes
Voter Uncertainty and Candidate Contact: New Influences on Voting Behavior	91	(14)
Lynn Vavreck
Declining Trust and a Shrinking Policy Agenda: Why Media Scholars Should Care	105	(18)
Marc J. Hetherington
Part IV: U.S. Campaigns and Group Identities
Imagining Political Parties: A Constructionist Approach	123	(22)
Sharon E. Jarvis
The Mass Media and Group Priming in American Elections	145	(22)
Nicholas A. Valentino
Part V: New Modes of Campaign Influence
The Outside Game: Congressional Communication and Party Strategy	167	(18)
Daniel Lipinski
Internet Politics: A Survey of Practices	185	(18)
Robert Klotz
Political Advertising and Popular Culture in the Televisual Age	203	(18)
Glenn W. Richardson Jr.
References	221	(24)
Index	245	(8)
About the Contributors	253