Everything You Think You Know About Politics...and Why You're Wrong

by Jamieson, Kathleen Hall

• ISBN13: 9780465036271
• ISBN10: 0465036279
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-23
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

Here, at last, is the book for anyone who ever wondered how the media extravaganzas we call political campaigns really work. Everything You Think You Know About Politics...and Why You're Wrong explores why the American public, seemingly so eager for "unspun" information about candidates and their positions, invariably ends up feeling manipulated by our political process.Challenging the reader with strategically placed quizzes, well-known commentator on the media and politics Kathleen Hall Jamieson surveys the existing public record on voting patterns, campaign promises, and all manner of electioneering and comes up with an engaging mix of analysis, surprising factoids, and political cartoons. This book separates the facts from the convenient fictions that deter Americans from caring about the processes and outcomes of elections.

Author Biography

A nationally renowned expert on presidential politics, Kathleen Hall Jamieson is Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of several widely acclaimed books on American politics and is herself a frequent media commentator on "CBS News," "Weekend Edition," and "CNN's Inside Politics." She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xxiii
Part I The Content and Effects of Campaigns
Do Campaigns Matter?	3	(16)
The Morning After: Do Politicians Keep Their Promises?	19	(18)
Who's to Blame? Is the Perception Gap in the Campaigns, Media Coverage, or Both?	37	(12)
What Is Happening Now? The Quality of Campaign Discourse	49	(6)
What Should We Really Expect? How They Talk to Us	55	(15)
Do the Quotes of Scholars Add Anything Different to the News?	70	(3)
Are Voters Smarter Than Pundits, the Press, and Scholars About Attack in Politics?	73	(7)
Was Voter Turnout in 1996 the Lowest Since 1924?	80	(3)
The Gender Gap in Political Knowledge: Are Women Less Knowledgeable Than Men About Politics?	83	(10)
Part II Candidate Advertising
Does Political Advertising Affect Turnout? If So, How, When, and for Whom?	93	(4)
Are Attack Ads Necessarily Negative?	97	(10)
Does Attack Advertising Affect Turnout?	107	(4)
Does Attack Advertising Create a Backlash? Mobilize the Other Side? Depress or Increase Support by Those of the Same Party?	111	(4)
Who Attacked More in Ads in 1996, Clinton or Dole?	115	(6)
Do Adwatches Backfire?	121	(4)
Part III Issue-Advocacy Advertising
Do Issue Ads Work? If So, When?	125	(18)
Part IV The Influence of News
The Test Ban Treaty and the 2000 Campaign	143	(6)
Does Local Television News Inform As Well As Local Newspapers?	149	(6)
Do Newspaper Endorsements Matter? Do Politicians Speak for Themselves in Newspapers and on Television?	155	(6)
Why Winning a Presidential General-Election Debate Has Little to Do with Performance	161	(2)
Is There Anything New to Learn in Debates? Do Voters Learn from Them?	163	(3)
Has the Average Length of a Candidate's Statement in News Dropped Since 1968?	166	(3)
Does Local Television News Shape Our Views of Those of Other Races? A Case Study in Perception and Accuracy in News Media and Their Audience	169	(18)
Is the Press Biased? Was the New York Times Biased Against Dole in 1996? Is Press Coverage Conservative or Liberal?	187	(10)
Who Sets the Print Media Agenda? A Case Study Focusing on the New York Times	197	(6)
Does the Winning Candidate's Agenda Match the Electorate's More Closely Than the Losing Candidate's?	203	(3)
How Does Reporting of Poll Results Affect Campaign Coverage?	206	(5)
Conclusion	211	(12)
Appendix I	223	(4)
Appendix II	227	(2)
Appendix III	229	(2)
Appendix IV	231	(14)
Notes	245	(22)
Selected References	267	(12)
Index	279