The overwhelming negativity with which the American public views the news media is largely misplaced. Indeed, negative, emotional, and even biased political news coverage has some benefits for the American people―influencing their ability to perceive a clear choice between the two major parties, increasing their willingness to participate in politics, focusing their attention on important issues, improving their political knowledge, and building their own feelings of political efficacy. On the other hand, the news media negatively contribute to trust in government and political compromise, both vital elements in a flourishing democracy. This book is organized to synthesize major findings in political communication research and present original evidence for the book’s thesis by examining journalists’ own attitudes about news coverage and by conducting detailed analyses that merge content analyses of political news coverage with public opinion data. Shedding much needed light on a complicated issue, this text will be an essential tool for helping students of the media develop a critical eye toward widely held views.

Product Description: By analyzing the key theories of political behavior in the context of Latin America, Orlando Pérez illustrates the impact, nature, and limits of democratization. This book fills a longstanding gap in comparative politics by tying together the transformations in political institutions and processes in the developing world and the empirical data on political participation among the citizens of these countries...read more

No approach to world affairs in the 21st century can afford to ignore the impact that processes of globalisation are having on governments, economies, cultures, and individuals. An understanding of the theories that underpin International Political Economy, and their practical applications, is therefore crucial to the study of international relations, politics, development and economics.In this comprehensive and accessible introduction to the field, the authors consider traditional and alternative approaches to IPE, elucidating key concepts, assumptions and the intellectual and historical context in which they arose and developed – making clear at all times their relevance to issues from trade finance and government, to environment, technology, development and culture.The style of this book encourages independent reflection and critical thinking. Each chapter relates theoretical analysis to contemporary issues, by way of giving the student a better understanding of the theory, and also demonstrating the value of theory in the real world.

Uses personal anecdotes, cartoons, and quotations to explain polling methods, factors affecting poll results, and techniques used to manipulate public opinion

The adoption of the landmark Voting Rights Act in 1965 enfranchised millions of Americans and is widely regarded as the crowning achievement of the civil rights movement. And yet fifty years later we are still fighting heated battles over race, representation, and political power-over the right to vote, the central pillar of our democracy.A groundbreaking narrative history of voting rights since 1965, Give Us the Ballot tells the story of what happened after the act was passed. Through meticulous archival research, fresh interviews with the leading participants in the ongoing struggle, and incisive on-the-ground reporting, Ari Berman chronicles the transformative impact the act had on American democracy and investigates how the fight over the right to vote has continued in the decades since. From new strategies to keep minorities out of the voting booth, to cynical efforts to limit political representation by gerrymandering electoral districts, to the Supreme Court's recent stunning decision that declared a key part of the Voting Rights Act itself unconstitutional, Berman tells the dramatic story of the pitched contest over the very heart of our democracy. At this important historical moment, Give Us the Ballot brings new insight to one of the most vital political and civil rights issues of our time.