Product Review

Shea and Burton present an updated and expanded version of Shea's 1996 guide to and analysis of modern American political campaign communication. They cover all aspects of present-day political campaigns, from understanding the context of a particular campaign to strategic thinking to specific voter contact techniques.

Shea and Burton present an updated and expanded version of Shea's 1996 guide to and analysis of modern American political campaign communication. Bringing to bear both academic and professional experience, they cover all aspects of present-day political campaigns from understanding the context of a particular campaign (national trends, the media market, demographic research, etc.) to strategic thinking (developing an overall theme and strategy), and to specific voter contact techniques (the tactical use of fundraising, paid media, free media--including the Internet--and get-out- the-vote drives).

Throughout the text, Shea and Burton's discussion and analysis is peppered with examples from national, state- level, and local campaigns. This comprehensive guide is must reading for all those interested in the campaign process, including candidates and political activists as well as scholars, researchers, and students involved with American politics and political communication.