Readings for March 2

Topic: Online Politics

New communication technology is a big part of American electoral campaigns. This is a dramatic change from how political campaigns, especially national campaigns, functioned just 15 years ago.

For me, our primary question is:

• How have things changed?

From that, we can begin to ask:

• Have things changed for the better?
• Who has benefited from the changes?

The readings are on Blackboard:

• Katz, J. E., Barris, M., & Jain, A. (2013). The Social Media President: Barack Obama and the Politics of Digital Engagement. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• pp. 1-8 and 11-19.
• Karpf, D. (2013). The Internet and American Political Campaigns. The Forum, 11(3), 413-428. 
• Ancu, M. (2011). Online Social Networks and Political Campaigns. In R. Mann & D. D. Perlmutter (Eds.), Political Communication: The Manship School Guide (pp. 203-209). Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.

You might find this interesting. It is a tally of the spending in the 2012 presidential election. Just skim it over.

• Malbin, M. (2013). Money vs. Money-Plus: Post-Election Reports Reveal Two Different Campaign Strategies. Washington, D.C.: Media Release, Campaign Finance Institute.

I also recommend poking around some websites

• The Democratic National Committee
• The Republican National Committee
• epolitics.com