Political Communication Ethics

Peter Loge is associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University and the founding director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication. He has served in senior staff positions in the US Congress and Obama administration, has worked as a lobbyist and strategic communications consultant, and had led and advised a range of advocacy organizations.

This book is a much needed resource for students and scholars across many disciplines who want to better understand the role of ethics as it applies to the theory and practice of politics in a democracy.

• Part One: Political Communication Ethics in Theory1. Ancient Democracy and Ethical Persuasion, Kenneth R. Chase2. Ethics and the Ends of Rhetoric, Janet M. Atwill3. Communication Ethics in Machiavelli, Alexander S. Duff4. Toward an Idealistic Political Theory of American and Global Politics in an Era of Ascendant Incivility, Benjamin Voth5. Civil Religion as an Ethical Foundation for Political Communication, Peter Loge6. The Rhetoric and Ethics of Political Communication: Freedom Summer as a Case Study in Moral Leadership, Mark L. McPhail7. The Ethical Implications of the Presidential Speechwriter’s Metaphors: Michael Gerson’s “The First Sign of a Smoking Gun Might be a Mushroom Cloud”, David A. Frank8. Overview of Digital Political Communication and Marketing, Jennifer Lees-Marshment and Vincent RaynauldPart Two: Political Communication Ethics in Practice9. Goalposts and Guardrails: A Mixed-Metaphor Guide to Ethics in Advocacy Campaigns, Elisa Massimino10. Yes, We Must Do Better (But It’s Not as Bad as You Think), Edward Brookover11. Instructions Not Included: The Limited Function of Laws, Norms, and Political Incentives in Political Communications Ethics, Kip F. Wainscott12. Defense of the Dark Arts: A Primer on the Ethics of ‘Oppo’, Andrew Lautz13. How Political Fact-Checkers Obscure Larger Truths in the Pursuit of Small Ones, Anson Kaye14. Ethics in Political Speechwriting, Rachel Wallace15. Identity Crisis: The Blurred Lines for Consumers and Producers of Digital Content, Cheryl Contee and Rosalyn Lemieux16. The Ethics of Lobbying, Matthew L. Johnson and Israel S. Klein