Product Description: This volume explores the nature of the Internet's impact on civil society, addressing the following central questions: is the Internet qualitatively different from the more traditional forms of the media? has the Internet demonstrated real potential to improve civil society through a wider provision of information, an enhancement of communication between government and citizen, or via better state transparency? does the Internet pose a threat to the coherence of civil society as people are encouraged to abandon shared media experiences and pursue narrow interests? in authoritarian states, does the Internet function as a beacon for free speech or as another tool for propaganda...read more

Product Description: New Media and American Politics is the first book to examine the effect on modern politics of the new media, which include talk radio, tabloid journalism, television talk shows, entertainment media, and computer networks. Davis and Owen discuss the new media's cultural environment, audience, and content, before going on to evaluate its impact on everything from elections to policy making to the old media itself...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Focusing her attention on the audience, Diana Owen investigates the way people process media messages during campaigns. This study examines the role of ads, news stories, poll results, and debates in presidential elections. Based on surveys fielded during the 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns, Owen compares these four message categories to determine their relative importance to voters...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)