Engaging the Public: How Government and the Media Can Reinvigorate American Democracy

by Paul Simon, Carol E. Hays, Scott P. Hays, Erica Weintraub Austin, Theodore L. Becker

Overview

In the1996 presidential election, voters stayed away from the polls in record numbers. This volume of original essays by leading political scientists and media scholars examines the nature of political disengagement among the public and offers concrete solutions for how the government and media can stimulate public engagement in the political process. Among recommendations are more public deliberation, media responsibility, and campaign finance reform. Candidates with integrity, issues that matter, and information that is both reliable and meaningful will motivate the disaffected more surely than special-interest appeals to minorities, lower-income voters, students, and others. Further recommendations include using the Internet, structural change in registration and voting, and 'reverse socialization'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847688906
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/03/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.88(w) x 8.92(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

Thomas J. Johnson is an associate professor in the School of Journalism at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Carol E. Hays is a research coordinator at the Center for Prevention Research and Development at the University of Illinois. Scott P. Hays is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and data analyst at the Center for Prevention Research and Development at the University of Illinois.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Foreword
Chapter 2 Introduction: Disengagement and Reform
Part 3 Part I. Citizen Engagement: The People
Chapter 4 No-Show '96: Americans Who Do Not Vote
Chapter 5 Alienation and the Soccer Mom: A Media Creation or a New Trend in Voting Behavior?
Chapter 6 Alienation, Engagement, and the College Student: A Focus Group Study
Chapter 7 Second Chance Political Socialization: Trickle-up Effects of Children on Parents
Part 8 Part II. Citizen Engagement: The Media
Chapter 9 Media and Participation: Breaking the Spiral of Disaffection
Chapter 10 Voter Interest and Participation in the 1996 Presidential Election: Did the Debates Matter?
Chapter 11 Consequences of Negative Political Advertising Exposure
Chapter 12 Political Talk Radio Shows' Impact on Democratic Citizenship
Chapter 13 A Vehicle for Engagement or a Haven for the Disaffected? Internet Use, Political Alienation, and Voter Participation
Part 14 Part III. Citizen Engagement: Reform
Chapter 15 Election Law Reform and Turnout: What Works?
Chapter 16 Voting Trends in the States: The Impact of Reform
Chapter 17 Early Voting in Tennessee: Removing Barriers to Participation
Chapter 18 Armchair Voting: The Vote-by-Mail Experiment in the State of Oregon
Chapter 19 DebateWatch '96 and Citizen Engagement: Building Democracy through Citizen Communication
Chapter 20 Going Beyond Adults and Voter Turnout: Evaluating a Socialization Program Involving Schools, Family, and Media
Chapter 21 Increasing the Quality and Quantity of Citizen Participation: New Technologies and New Techniques
Chapter 22 Engaging the Public: An Agenda for Reform

Editorial Reviews

This well-rounded study goes beyond handwringing about the sad state of civic engagement in the United States. It presents important research that sheds new light on the problem and makes thoughtful, workable recommendations about solutions. Engaging the Public is worth reading, worth pondering, and worth implementing.

Doris A. Graber

This is an ambitious collection of seventeen essays that. .. provide new insights that can enrich the public dialogue and inspire new research.

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly - James L. Aucoin

This is an ambitious collection of seventeen essays that . . . provide new insights that can enrich the public dialogue and inspire new research.
— James L. Aucoin, University of South Alabama

Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly

Engaging the Public makes a valuable contribution to the scholarship on political communication, and constitutes a needed link between political science and the health of the American body politic. Not only should this volume provoke further initiatives to engage the public, but it should engage other scholars in research that expands upon the findings and recommendations herein.
— Bartholemew H. Sparrow, University of Texas at Austin

Rhetoric & Public Affairs

Engaging the Public makes a valuable contribution to the scholarship on political communication, and constitutes a needed link between political science and the health of the American body politic. Not only should this volume provoke further initiatives to engage the public, but it should engage other scholars in research that expands upon the findings and recommendations herein.
— Bartholemew H. Sparrow, University of Texas at Austin

Rhetoric and Public Affairs

Engaging the Public makes a valuable contribution to the scholarship on political communication, and constitutes a needed link between political science and the health of the American body politic. Not only should this volume provoke further initiatives to engage the public, but it should engage other scholars in research that expands upon the findings and recommendations herein.

Rhetoric & Public Affairs - Bartholemew H. Sparrow