Mass Media and Elections

Abstract

Traditionally, political communication has been divided into two component areas of research, (a) the production of campaign messages (including both news and advertising), and (b) the impact of these messages on voters' predispositions and actions. In this article the authors summarize and synthesize studies representing these broad subfields. Because the production of campaign information is a critical determinant of the range of voter responses, and because voter response itself is a crucial determinant of campaign strategy, the authors argue that the two strands of political communication research must converge for the field to advance.