Drawing on the insights of a distinguished group of international scholars from a variety of disciplines, Soundbite Culture combines theory with case analysis to describe and account for the environment within which discourse has declined, and what has replaced it and why. The authors explore the implications of their premise by investigating various media, their methods, and their social, cultural and political implications. Topics include targeted direct mail campaigns, polling, infomercials, Internet identities, radio talk shows, and film depictions.

Most information about the role of political consultants in elections has been limited to analyses of the few major firms that manage presidential and major congressional contenders. Political Empiricism shifts the focus of research to state and regional races, examining the strategies and variables unique to the smaller political campaigns. Rita Kirk Whillock describes how severe budgetary constraints, inexperienced campaign staffs, and extremely limited voter research change the face of political campaigns on the state and local levels.

Each chapter of this volume presents a mixture...