Political communication began with the earliest studies of democratic discourse by Aristotle and Plato. However, modern political communication relies on an interdisciplinary base that draws on concepts from communication, political science, journalism, sociology, psychology, history, rhetoric, and others. This encyclopedia considers political communication from that broad interdisciplinary perspective, encompassing the many different roles that communication plays in political processes in the United States and around the world. Not limited to communication in electoral contexts, political communication also considers the role of communication in governing, incorporating communication activities that influence the operation of executive, legislative, and judicial bodies, political parties, interest groups, political action committees, and other participants in political processes.

This work contains discussion of the major theoretical approaches to the field, including direct and limited effects theories, agenda-setting theories, sociological theories, framing and priming theories, and other past and present conceptualizations. Considerable attention is devoted to major sources of political communication and to important political messages such as political speeches, televised political advertising, political posters and print advertising, televised political debates, and Internet sites. The channels of political communication encompass interpersonal and public communication, radio, television, newspapers, and the World Wide Web. News media coverage and journalistic analysis of politics, political issues, political figures, and political institutions are important topics included. The audiences for political communications are also central, necessitating concentration on citizen reactions to political messages, how the general public and voters in democratic systems respond to political messages, and the effects of all types of media and message types.

Whereas this encyclopedia provides information that may be helpful in an introductory way for political communication scholars, researchers, and graduate students, it is also designed for libraries, undergraduates, and members of the public with an interest in political affairs. Media and political professionals, as well as government officials, lobbyists, and participants in independent political organizations, will find the volume useful in developing a better understanding of how the media and communication function in political settings.

In developing the list of entry terms to be included in this encyclopedia, we consulted several sources. First, we considered indexes and lists of topics in other types of political communication reference materials. These included The Handbook of Political Communication (Nimmo & Sanders, 1981), The Handbook of Political Communication Research (Kaid, 2004), the Communication Yearbooks sponsored by the International Communication Association, and major journals in the field such as Political Communication. We also consulted other encyclopedias on related topics, such as the Encyclopedia of Politics (Carlisle, 2005), The Encyclopedia of Television (Newcomb, 2004), the Encyclopedia of Radio (Sterling & Keith, 2004), and the Encyclopedia of Media and Politics (Schaefer & Birkland, 2004). We further examined the indexes of many other books and reference materials related to the political communication discipline.

Additional advice on the headword list came from our Advisory Board of distinguished scholars, Max McCombs, Denis McQuail, Doris Graber, Robert Denton, and Kathleen J. M. Haynes. Reliance on Haynes's expertise in library and information science, as well as her work with Lynda Lee Kaid on the development of the Political Commercial Archive database (Kaid, Haynes, & Rand, 1996), allowed us to shape the entry terms in line with Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH).

[Page xxxix]The nearly 600 entry terms in this encyclopedia are comprised of four different levels. The first level contains up to 500 words and is designed for simple concepts, individual persons, a book or reference item, or important political communication events or happenings that are limited in time or scope. These include political leaders whose political communication styles or actions warrant description and classic books in the field. More advanced concepts and those related to other broader concepts in the field generally justified entries at the second level of 1,000 words. Examples of entries at this level include Political Disaffection; Radio, Politics and; Citizen Journalism; and the Kennedy Assassination. The description of a major subfield within political communication or a concept with many different aspects or ties to other theoretical or research concepts called for an entry at the third level of 2,000 to 2,500 words. These included Diffusion of Innovations, Party Identification, Political Engagement, and Campaign Finance. Finally, the longest entries (5,000 words) were reserved for major concepts or topics that overlap many different areas and many different theoretical concepts. Examples of these larger entries include Agenda Setting, Political Advertising, Political Information Processing, and Media Bias.

We also attempted to provide many synonyms or alternative forms of concepts with blind entries. For instance, a user who might be interested in civic engagement would find that term listed with a “See Political Engagement” notation, pointing the user to the entry term under which civic engagement is discussed. Similarly, a user looking for civic journalism would find an entry directing the user to Public Journalism. Entries also include cross-reference information where relevant, thus also pointing the user to other topics or headwords that might yield additional information on the topic. Each entry term also includes, where appropriate, a list of further readings or references that can help a user delve more deeply into a subject or topic.

Three other parameters are particularly important in considering what was and was not included in the headwords for this encyclopedia. First, it is important to stress the importance of communication in our conceptualization. Political topics were not included unless they had some direct and important tie to communication and communication processes. Consequently, every political leader or politician was not included. Only individuals whose communication actions have been particularly important or about whom major communication research or undertakings have revolved were included. Likewise, concepts from political science or sociology that have generated considerable scholarship in those disciplines but have not been advanced greatly by applications of communication theory or research were omitted. Examples of concepts or entities omitted on these grounds included Hegemony, Isolationism, Political Economy, Xenophobia, and Immigration. A second important parameter was the time period covered. In general, this encyclopedia concentrates on headword entries that represent the field of political communication since the middle of the 20th century. A few very classic and central persons and ideas are included from earlier times, including Aristotle and his writings, the persuasion techniques of Machiavelli, the propaganda techniques from World War II, and the fireside chats of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Nonetheless, important work and persons before 1950 were sometimes omitted because of the need to include more recent and timely material.

A third parameter of this encyclopedia is its inherent emphasis on political communication from the point of view of the United States. There is substantial and important research and scholarship on political communication in international contexts. Researchers in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, Britain, and France, have made important contributions to political communication theory and research. Political communication research in Asia and in Australia and New Zealand is expanding rapidly. Latin America and Africa have also yielded important scholarship in recent years, as have expanding new democracies in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. We have included major developments from these areas where published scholarship and available reference materials yielded sufficient depth for inclusion. Nonetheless, it is still necessary to acknowledge the dominance of U.S. researchers and published scholarship on political communication, and our entry terms and the treatment of them in this volume often represent this U.S. perspective.