Everything You Think You Know About Politics...and Why You're Wrong

by Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Overview

Here, at last, is the book for anyone who ever wondered how the media extravaganzas we call political campaigns really work. Everything You Think You Know About Politics…and Why You're Wrong explores why the American public, seemingly so eager for "unspun" information about candidates and their positions, invariably ends up feeling manipulated by our political process.Challenging the reader with strategically placed quizzes, well-known commentator on the media and politics Kathleen Hall Jamieson surveys the existing public record on voting patterns, campaign promises, and all manner of electioneering and comes up with an engaging mix of analysis, surprising factoids, and political cartoons. This book separates the facts from the convenient fictions that deter Americans from caring about the processes and outcomes of elections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465036271
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	06/23/2000
Series:	New Republic Book Series
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile:	1460L (what's this?)

About the Author

A nationally renowned expert on presidential politics, Kathleen Hall Jamieson is Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of several widely acclaimed books on American politics and is herself a frequent media commentator on "CBS News," "Weekend Edition," and "CNN's Inside Politics." She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Editorial Reviews

Focusing on the media-shaped perceptions of the American public, Jamieson (communication and public policy, University of Pennsylvania) explores feelings of manipulation in politics. Based on information of the last two presidential elections, she surveys the existing public record on voting patterns, campaign promises, polling, soundbites, negative ads, and election strategies. Jamieson's analysis focuses on the content and effects of campaigns, the use of advertising, and the influence of the news media. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Ms Jamieson is widely regarded as one of the finest critics of media and politics in the United States, and has produced a book that will doubtless serve as the vade mecum for the upcoming campaign season...Ms. Jamieson's book is remarkable in its own assiduously researched, often tightly argues way. The sections on local news coverage and the defeat of the McCain tobacco bill are superb.
—The New York Observer

Stephen Metcalf

[Jamieson] does an excellent job of looking at how political bias in the newsroom affects coverage...at the very least there is honest information and, in the endless spin cycle of Washington, that's no small thing.
—Christian Science Monitor

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