Political Campaigns and Political Advertising: A Media Literacy Guide

Frank W. Baker

jun 2009 · Bloomsbury Publishing USA

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Examining political campaigns and political advertising through the analytical lens of media literacy, this well-illustrated and timely handbook guides readers through the maze of blandishments and spin that is the hallmark of the modern political campaign. It dissects the persuasive strategies embedded in the political messages we encounter every day in the media and demonstrates the importance of critical thinking in evaluating media stories. Key concepts of media literacy are applied to political advertising in traditional media (newspapers, television, radio) and on the Internet, the new frontier of the political advertising wars. Dealing with blogs, social networking, user-generated Web sites, and other electronic formats familiar to young voters, this lively introduction to the new world of political messaging appeals to readers' affinity for visual learning as well as their ability to discern messages in text.

Unique in applying media literacy concepts to the political context while directly addressing students and general readers, this book not only explains but graphically demonstrates both established techniques of political framing and the new avenues of persuasion being pioneered in digital media. It will also interest viewers who like their political news in traditional media but unconventional formats.

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FRANK W. BAKER is a nationally recognized media literacy consultant and the webmaster of Media Literacy Clearinghouse, a respected media literacy resource Web site. He has worked in television news and as an administrator for instructional television and distance learning in the Orange County (Orlando), Florida, public school system. He is the author of Coming Distractions: Questioning Movies (2007), an introduction to media literacy for elementary students.