How often do we hear that Americans are so ignorant about politics that their civic competence is impaired, and that the media are to blame because they do a dismal job of informing the public? "Processing Politics" shows that average Americans are far smarter than the critics believe. Integrating a broad range of current research on how people learn (from political science, social psychology, communication, physiology, and artificial intelligence), Doris Graber shows that televised presentations-at their best-actually excel at transmitting information and facilitating learning. She critiques...

Explores the struggle between journalists, political actors, and the public for control of the news in democratic countries. This book shows how the news media function as an intermediary between governments and citizens, as well as between political actors (such as parties and interest groups) and the public.

By helping students see how communication networks must be treated within larger psychological, cultural, and mechanical contexts, this wok presents ways to construct effective channels so information is transmitted to the appropriate audiences, linking policy decisions to feedback from citizens.

Even as more and more communications avenues open up, are Americans losing their political IQ? Some democratic theorists bemoan citizen apathy, ignorance, and incapacity to make sound political judgments. Renowned media scholar Doris Graber contends that such assessments are based on impractical and outmoded models of measuring citizen awareness and engagement. Using what she calls "reality-based" research methods and a sensitivity to contemporary trends, Graber finds that average people understand many political issues and can think about them in complex ways. She reports her new research on...