Message Control: How News Is Made on the Presidential Campaign Trail(Communication, Media, and Politics)

Message Control_a look at what shapes the news from the presidential campaign trail_comes out of the author's experience traveling with campaigns, interviews with other journalists who have covered campaigns from the road, and research on campaign news. Elizabeth Skewes, a journalism professor and former reporter, investigates journalists' beliefs and the role those beliefs play in the election process, as well as how the routines of campaign reporting affect news coverage. While Skewes does find that journalists make an effort to inform the voting decisions of their readers by giving them a sense of context for each campaign and each candidate's character, she also shows that journalists remain wary of staff manipulation and are constrained by pack journalism, press pools, and life 'in the bubble.' From on-the-trail perspectives to media theory explanations, Message Control begins to answer the question of why political coverage focuses on personalities and peccadilloes when studies show the public wants less of this and more discussion of political issues.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 1 Media Coverage of Modern Campaigns Chapter 2 2 The Big Picture Chapter 3 3 The Reporter's Role Chapter 4 4 The Goals of the Campaign Managers Chapter 5 5 Life "In the Bubble" of the Campaign Chapter 6 6 A Battle for Access Chapter 7 7 Deciding What's Newsworthy Chapter 8 8 A Prescription for Improving Campaign Coverage Chapter 9 References

About the Author :
Elizabeth A. Skewes is assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she teaches courses in news writing, news editing, media ethics, media studies, political communication, and research methods.

Review :
As someone who has traveled the media buses during countless presidential campaigns, I give a big 'thumbs up' to Elizabeth Skewes's richly detailed account and analysis of journalists' practices (the good and the not so good) as they cover presidential hopefuls every four years. A fine 'sequel' to the stories of the old 'boys' on the 'buses....' The 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns were bitterly fought and closely run affairs. What the general public didn't see was the equally tough struggle between journalists and campaign professionals to control the message and image of the candidates. Message Control is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at this conflict, telling the struggle through interviews with participants and concluding with some prescriptions for better press coverage. Anyone interested in press and the politics and how we choose our leaders will want to read this book. Despite the consensus that reporters are important, the public knows surprisingly little about how journalists go about their jobs or how they negotiate with politicians to produce news. Much of what is known is drawn from Tim Crouse's seminal 1973 work, The Boys on the Bus. In this book, Skewes updates and expands Crouse's book with an academic's analytical eye and a former journalist's experience and effortless prose. The result is an informative, much needed book about how journalists and politicians make news on the presidential campaign trail. Based on dozens of interviews with key reporters, this book is well researched yet remarkably easy to read. Some of Skewes' observations about the role of voters could be enhanced through a more thorough review of the political science literature on voter decision making, but the book succeeds in uncovering the daily machinations of news making on the campaign trail. It should be required reading for anyone interested in the relationship between politicians and the media. Highly recommended. Message Control is a worthy successor to Tim Crouse's landmark study The Boys on the Bus. The advantage of Elizabeth Skewes's clear-eyed study of the bruising 2000 and 2004 presidential contests is that she reminds us how much richer our vocabulary of press and political analysis has become. She also summoned the energy to observe first hand the traveling circus of the challengers' campaigns, offering a wealth of fascinating details and fly-on-the-wall insights from veteran reporters. The result is an engrossing book that allows readers to join an astute guide for a tour of the back regions of presidential campaigns.