Political Communication

Political Communication Media & Public Affairs Robert Mann, Series Editor Political Media & Public Affairs, a book series published by Louisiana State University Press and the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at the Manship School of Mass Communication, LSU, explores the complex relationship between knowledge and power in our democracy. Communication Books in this series examine what citizens and public officials know, where they get their information, and how they use that information to act. For more information, visit www .lsu.edu/mpabookseries. Edited by ROBerT MANN and DAVID D. PerLMUTTer The Manship School Guide Political Communication Edited by ROBerT MANN and DAVID D. PerLMUTTer Revised and Expanded Edition Louisiana State University Press Baton Rouge Published by Louisiana State University Press Copyright © 2011 by Louisiana State University Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America LSU Press Paperback Original first printing designer: Amanda McDonald Scallan typeface: Whitman printer: McNaugton & Gunn, Inc. binder: Dekker Bookbinding Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Manship School guide to political communication Political communication : the Manship School guide / edited by Robert Mann and David D. Perl- mutter. — Rev. and expanded ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-8071-3789-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8071-3790-1 (pdf) — ISBN 978-0-8071- 3955-4 (epub) — ISBN 978-0-8071-3956-1 (mobi) 1. Campaign management—United States. 2. Political campaigns—United States. 3. Political consultants—United States. 4. Mass media—Po- litical aspects. I. Mann, Robert, 1958– II. Perlmutter, David D., 1962– III. Manship School of Mass Communication. IV. Title. JK2281.M36 2011 320.01'4—dc22 2010054163 The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. ∞ To our wives, Christie and Cindy This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction david d. perlmutter and robert mann 1 Understanding the Industry 1. Consultants and Candidates john franzén 13 2. A Brief History of Political Advertising on Television darrell m. west 23 3. Political Communication Center lynda lee kaid 33 Laws and Regulations 4. Political Advertising and the First Amendment louis a. day 39 5. Electronic Media and Congressional Politics ron garay 51 6. The States and Campaign Finance Laws david schultz 64 Techniques and Types 7. Television Ads and Video dane strother 77 8. Newspaper Advertising thomas n. edmonds and john e. kimball 89 9. Radio Advertising bill fletcher 97 10. Outdoor Advertising sean reilly 106 11. Earned Media bud jackson 112 12. Speechwriting trevor parry-giles 126 Contents 13. Modern Campaign Polling robert k. goidel 136 14. Focus Groups malcolm p. ehrhardt 145 15. Local Television News and Political Campaigns david kurpius 154 16. Get Out the Vote gerry tyson 164 17. Independent Content paul harang 174 18. Public Journalism david kurpius 182 19. Online Political Advertising monica ancu 190 20. Evaluating Campaign Websites michael xenos 197 21. Online Social Networks and Political Campaigns monica ancu 203 Constituencies 22. Older Voters robert h. binstock 213 23. The Religious Conservative Voter lisa k. lundy 227 24. Young Voters katherine knobloch 236 25. The Latino (Hispanic) Voter melissa michelson 248 26. Race and Southern Politics wayne parent 257 27. Informing Insiders charlie cook 265 Contributors 273 Index 279 viii Acknowledgments The editors are grateful to the Manship family, who generously funded a research professorship for the first edition of this book. The second edition benefited from research funding from the Professorship in Media & Public Affairs and the William K. “Bill” Carville Professorship of Communication and Political Empowerment at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. We are also grateful to MaryKath- erine Callaway and Alisa Plant of LSU Press for their support and encourage- ment. We wish to thank two graduate students from the Manship School— Katherine Knobloch and Paul Harang—who not only contributed chapters for this volume, but who also helped in many ways with its production and editing. Most of all, we wish to thank our spouses, Cindy and Christie, for their constant support, loyalty, and affection. This page intentionally left blank Political Communication This page intentionally left blank Introduction DAVID D. PERLMUTTER AND ROBErt MANN During the Iowa caucuses of the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Senator Barack Obama of Illinois defeated his rivals and immediately became the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. His victory in the Hawkeye State and his subsequent march to the White House also unveiled a new era of political campaigns. In 2003–2004, Howard Dean and the young political consultants, workers, activists, and Internet entrepreneurs of his campaign had pioneered a 1.0 version of online social-media interactivity between voters and their candidate. Like all prototypes, the initial model did not work exactly as planned or to the best effect. But the Obama version—heralded and championed by a candidate who looked, spoke, and acted like a technology innovator as well as a great communicator—created a 2.0 social-media campaign in 2007–2008 that transformed politics. Obama’s team, in short, figured out how to marry the old and the new. Its get-out-the-vote strategy, which dates back at least to the voter-canvassing drivers of the early Roman Republic, was well coordinated with a MySpace outreach that allowed tens of millions of potential voters to contribute cash and time, and to build organization and enthusiasm for the candidate. Political Communication: The Manship School Guide is about the processes, events, techniques, technologies, venues, theories, and applications of the modern world of political campaigns. It is also, at its core, about people: the actors who participate in and try to control their own destinies and those of their candidates. Two thousand eleven is a crucial time for a new edition of the original Manship School Guide, first published in 1999, because those key power players are currently rethinking and recasting their strategies and 1 DaVID D. PErlmuttER AND ROBErt MANN tactics to try to adapt and survive in the new era. Back in our 1.0 edition, one of the editors was able to confidently state that the “political process today is consultant driven: where once party bosses were kingmakers, now political consultants determine much of campaign and election strategy and are even influential in the making of public policy.” He was also able to point out that the phenomenon is hardly new. The courts of Ramses II, Julius Caesar, Char- lemagne, and Elizabeth I swarmed with counselors offering tips on how to improve public goodwill and secure power. What is different today (at least in the annals of American history) is that instead of being background confi- dants, political consultants are public—some even say independent—players. Their appearances come in many forms, from the Hollywood screen to the MSNBC studios, from the op-ed pages of the New York Times to the “results” sections of academic papers. Perhaps more ominously, thousands of young women and men are setting out from college each year hoping to place the title “political consultant” on their business cards. But now, as our authors as- sess early twenty-first-century electioneering, online and elsewhere, we must take into account a new potential power player: the people themselves. Today people are measured not just by votes, attendance at rallies, or donations, but by their own voices, especially those heard loudest on social media such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other venues. A point that will be developed and noted in many of the essays to come: once upon a time, the face and voice of a candidate belonged to him or her, the campaign, the press, and maybe the opponent. That gave you, as candidate, some control over who heard you and saw you, when and where. One of the editors of this book recalls an incident that typified the old situation. He fol- lowed his employer, a United States senator, to a speech at a senior center, a very standard political event. Suddenly, an older gentleman in the front row collapsed, sounding like he might be having a heart attack. The senator leaped from the podium and administered CPR until an ambulance arrived. That evening, the editor was surprised to see no mention of the incident on the news, nor was it in the paper the next morning. At work, he learned that the candidate, a truly modest and decent man, had specifically asked for this golden publicity moment to be censored, saying, “I just did what anybody would have done and I don’t want to profit by it.” Such incidents might still happen, but now it would not be up to a politi- cian or news organization to suppress video and reports of the event. Likely half the crowd, including young campaign workers, would pull out their PDAs 2 INTRODuctION or cell phones, recording the excitement and posting footage and commentary on their blogs or Twitter feeds even before the EMT sirens could be heard. In short, it is even more important now than it was in 1999 to uncover the roles people play—both as insiders and outsiders—in the confusing world of politics. Hence the task of this book: to go beyond the blarney and blather and to discuss what consultant-driven and social media–enhanced political communication for campaigns and elections is and can be in the second decade of the millennium. Although some of the essays criticize aspects of the process, most simply try to explain what political communication is, what it is not, and how it is done; we invite the reader to retain a critical eye in this light.

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