Handbook of Political Communication Research

This volume brings together the major thrusts of contemporary research and theory in political communication. The approach stresses theoretical overviews and research synthesis with the goal of each chapter to provide an overview of the major lines of research, theory, and findings for that topic. Editor Lynda Kaid brings together top scholars to explore the state of political communication research. Part I contains chapters that discuss some of the theoretical background, history, structure, and diversity of the field. Part II concentrates on messages that are predominant in the study of political communication, ranging from classical rhetorical modes to political advertising and debates. The next two sections focus on the news media coverage of politics, political issues, and political institutions followed by an emphasis on public opinion and the audiences of political communication. Part V offers international perspectives on political communication with the inclusion of European and Asian approaches. The final section provides an opportunity to look at the newest channel in political communication study, the Internet, and its role in changing the face of political communication. As a comprehensive examination of the political communication field, the volume is intended for scholars and researchers in political communication, mass communication, and political science. It will also find readers in public opinion, political psychology, and related areas.

Lynda Lee Kaid is Professor of Telecommunication and Senior Associate Dean in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. Previously she was a George Lynn Cross Research Professor at the University of Oklahoma where she also served as the Director of the Political Communication Center and supervised the Political Commercial Archive. She received her Ph.D. degree in 1974 from Southern Illinois University. Her research specialties include political advertising and news coverage of political events.
A Fulbright Scholar, she has also done work on political television in several Western European countries. She is the author/editor of 14 books, including The Millennium Election, Political Television in Evolving European Democracies, Civic Dialogue in the 1996 Presidential Campaign, Videostyle in Presidential Campaigns, The Electronic Election, New Perspectives on Political Advertising, Mediated Politics in Two Cultures, Political Advertising in Western Democracies, and Political Campaign Communication: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature. She also has written over 100 journal articles and book chapters and over 100 convention papers on various aspects of political communication. She has received over $1 million in external grant funds for her research efforts, including support from the U. S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Kaid is a former president of the Political Communication Divisions of the International Communication Association and the National Communication Association and has served in leadership roles in the American Political Science Association.