Political Empiricism: Communication Strategies in State and Regional Elections

(Hardback)

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Description

Most information about the role of political consultants in elections has been limited to analyses of the few major firms that manage presidential and major congressional contenders. "Political Empiricism" shifts the focus of research to state and regional races, examining the strategies and variables unique to the smaller political campaigns. Rita Kirk Whillock describes how severe budgetary constraints, inexperienced campaign staffs, and extremely limited voter research change the face of political campaigns on the state and local levels. Each chapter of this volume presents a mixture of the theoretical and the practical, providing a link between current scholarship and real campaign strategies. The volume's case study approach explores key issues and concerns of political communication, including incumbency, image, gender, fundraising, advertizing and message strategies. "political Empiricism" stands as a significant scholarly account that balances the existing bias toward analyzes of national campaign strategies, and helps close the gap between communications practice and theory.

Reviews

One of the best efforts seeking to bridge the gulf between those who study political communication and those who study political campaigns and elections. The author, with one foot firmly in the academic camp of communication and the other in the political consultancy camp, has done a superb job of blending the practical and the theoretical. Among its several major contributions, this work treats state and regional political races, eschewing the presidential and congressional contests that are usually the subjects of such analyses. Down-the-ballot contests differ in many ways from those visible races at the top of every ballot; this study will help readers understand those differences. Drawing on case studies of a variety of regional and state campaigns, the author examines political communication and elections by exploring such issues as incumbency, image, gender, fund-raising, advertising, and strategies for getting political messages out to prospective voters. Thoroughly familiar with the body of scholarship of political campaigns as well as the body of scholarship of political communication, Whillock excels at examining the role of political consultants in today's political campaigns. Essential for all university libraries with holdings on political campaigns and/or political communication.-Choice
"One of the best efforts seeking to bridge the gulf between those who study political communication and those who study political campaigns and elections. The author, with one foot firmly in the academic camp of communication and the other in the political consultancy camp, has done a superb job of blending the practical and the theoretical. Among its several major contributions, this work treats state and regional political races, eschewing the presidential and congressional contests that are usually the subjects of such analyses. Down-the-ballot contests differ in many ways from those visible races at the top of every ballot; this study will help readers understand those differences. Drawing on case studies of a variety of regional and state campaigns, the author examines political communication and elections by exploring such issues as incumbency, image, gender, fund-raising, advertising, and strategies for getting political messages out to prospective voters. Thoroughly familiar with the body of scholarship of political campaigns as well as the body of scholarship of political communication, Whillock excels at examining the role of political consultants in today's political campaigns. Essential for all university libraries with holdings on political campaigns and/or political communication."-Choice

Author Bio

RITA KIRK WHILLOCK is Assistant Professor of Communication at Southern Methodist University. She has served as a political analyst for WAFF-TV and WAAY-TV in Huntsville, and is currently a media consultant for Alabama and Texas political races.