Political Communication and Digital Advocacy

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The field of political communication emerged soon after World War II and steadily grew into an established field of study within the Communication discipline. From the field’s beginning, it was clear that better understanding the role of and influence of political rhetoric (or political communication) was important, especially due to the rapidly escalating technological developments that were utilized by politicians to campaign for votes.

Each scholar who contributed to this book is interested in understanding political communication’s role in the political process and, especially, within a democratic society. For all the time and effort put forth by each of the contributors to this collection, the editors are most appreciative.

The Peter Lang Group is a well-respected international academic and scholarly publisher and has been patient and helpful throughout the process of this book’s development. The editors are indebted to Dr. Elizabeth Howard, Acquisitions Editor at Peter Lang, for her assistance directing the manuscript through the concluding stages of publication. Appreciation is owed to Sweetlin Ajitha, of Peter Lang, for her assistance in the final stages. The editors wish to acknowledge the role of and express appreciation to Niall Kennedy, Senior Acquisitions Editor for Media and Communication, who enthusiastically supported this book idea and worked with us at the beginning of the project.

The editors also wish to acknowledge Muralidharan Pattabiraman and the production team at Peter Lang Private Limited in India for the appearance of the finished product, including the book’s cover design.

Importantly, the editors wish to express gratefulness to Dr. Mary E. Stuckey, the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University, and Dr. Mitchell S. McKinney, Dean and Professor of the Buchtel College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Akron. Mary and Mitchell are well-respected scholars in the political communication field, and they supported this work from the beginning. Their input from the peer review process vetting this project’s initial proposal, indeed, improved this book. The editors are honored they chose the project to be included in their “Frontiers in Political Communication” book series.

John Allen Hendricks is indebted to, Dr. Stacy Hendricks, his wife of more than 30 years. He wishes to recognize the support of Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA), a member of the University of Texas System. SFA has been a wonderful academic home.

Dan Schill remains deeply thankful for Jessica, Ellie, and Bennett. He would also like to recognize his colleagues at James Madison University for their continued collegiality, encouragement, and strong support for research and teaching.

·1· TRUST, TRUTH, AND TECHNOLOGY: POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN POLARIZED TIMES

John Allen Hendricks and Dan Schill

Effectively communicating with the electorate is arguably the most important task a candidate for political office must master to get elected. Clear and persuasive communication helps candidates connect with voters, build trust and credibility, frame the issues and influence public opinion, navigate media scrutiny, respond to crises, and mobilize supporters to volunteer, donate, and vote. In addition to mastering effective communication, political candidates certainly must also have a firm grasp of policy issues, but, without doubt, if the candidate does not get elected due to poor communication skills and strategies, then knowledge and experience of the issues is irrelevant. Hackenburg et al. (2023) explained: “At the very heart of elections in a representative democracy lies the art of rhetoric. As Aristotle observed, effective rhetoric can offer political advocates significant electoral influence” (para. 3). Further, communication is not just about speaking eloquently but also about listening, empathizing, and adapting messages to diverse audiences. Communication is a fundamental skill that allows candidates to connect, persuade, and lead effectively in a complex and competitive media environment.

At the national level, communicating effectively with the electorate becomes much more complicated due to the multiple and fragmented mediums in which communication occurs combined with the vast diversity and competing interests of a national audience. Communicating effectively with a nationwide audience demands not only precision and clarity, but also cultural competence, adaptability across a fragmented media ecosystem, and the ability to navigate complex issues while maintaining trust with the citizenry. McNair (2011) explained:

Brave (and probably doomed to failure) is the organization which ventures into the contemporary political arena without a more or less sophisticated understanding of how the media work and the professional public relations machinery capable of putting that knowledge to good use. For all political actors, from presidents and prime ministers to trade union leaders and terrorists, this is now recognized to be a major prerequisite of successful intervention in public debate and governmental decision-making. (pp. xiv-xv)

Further elaborating on the importance and role of communication in the political process, Denton and Kuypers (2008) asserted that communication is foundational to social cohesion, issue discussion, and legislative enactment: “the essence of politics is talk or human interaction. Such interaction is formal and informal, verbal and nonverbal, public and private—but always persuasive in nature, causing us to interpret, to evaluate, and to act” (p. xii).

While the fundamentals of political communication go back to Aristotle and before, in recent years, political communication has become more dynamic, personalized, and complex over the past decade, driven by technological advancements, changing media landscapes, and shifts in political strategy. Among many other changes, digital and social media platforms like Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok have become central to political communication. Candidates and parties use these platforms to directly reach voters, share their messages, mobilize supporters, and respond to criticism in real-time. Digital tools also allow for highly targeted advertising based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. The 24/7 news cycle driven by online news platforms and social media has increased the speed and intensity of political communication as political events and statements spread rapidly and reach a global audience almost instantly. There has been a shift towards more visual and interactive content in political communication, such as infographics, short-form videos, live streams, podcasts, and interactive websites. Social media has empowered citizens to participate in political discourse through user-generated content and citizen journalism and new platforms have diversified the sources of political news and information. At the same time, the decline of legacy media and institutional trust have contributed to the prevalence of misinformation and fake news. Thus, the purpose of this book is to more closely examine the role of communication in the political process and how communication has evolved on digital and social media platforms in recent years. This book studies these issues through the lens of the 2020 election cycle in the United States, however these trends will continue in the future and, just as political communication now extends beyond national borders, the findings in this book apply to other countries and contexts. So while each chapter necessarily looks to the recent past, each contribution will speak to the future and how candidates and leaders must adapt their communication capabilities to navigate the challenges and opportunities of modern political discourse.