Politics and the Media

Jane Hall (janehallmedia.com) is an associate professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C., specializing in researching, writing and teaching about the intersection of media and politics and journalism.  Before joining American University, Hall was a journalist covering the news media, politics and policy for national publications, including nine years as the media correspondent for the Los Angeles Times in New York.  She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and winner of the Los Angeles Times Editor′s Award and the Los Angeles Press Club Award. Hall is moderator and executive producer for the long-running American Forum events series in Washington, D.C., interviewing prominent journalists and politicians with college students on TV, public radio and online.  Professor Hall has been a regular contributor to Columbia Journalism Review, the Harvard International Journal of Press and Politics and  the Freedom Forum Media Studies Journal; and  she has written for other publications from Rolling Stone to the Wall Street Journal. Her op-ed essay for the New York Times about the impact of Fox News on politics and journalism was widely quoted.  Hall is  frequently interviewed about issues in media and politics by the New York Times, Washington Post, AP, NPR, Politico and numerous other outlets. A former media commentator on Fox News Channel, she has regularly appeared as a media expert on CNN′s media-analysis program "Reliable Sources" as well as "PBS NewsHour," MSNBC, C-SPAN-TV and other networks .  Hall has specialized in writing and teaching about the depiction of women in politics and media, including a chapter on the status of women in TV and print journalism for Sage’s Gender and Women′s Leadership: A Reference Handbook; she also focuses on writing and teaching about young people and news and politics as well as media ethics. Hall  co-authored a survey and analysis of more than 200 journalists regarding self-censorship of imagery from the Iraq War that was praised as an important study by Columbia Journalism Review.   Prof. Hall teaches a popular inter-disciplinary course, Politics and the Media, that attracts majors from political science, political communication and journalism.  She also teaches courses in reporting on the federal government and on understanding media and popular culture.Hall has collaborated with news organizations and students on numerous student-centered editorial and national polling projects, including a year-long series with the Washington Post around the 2008 presidential election as well as a year-long project about the 2018 Congressional mid-term elections that culminated in a live town hall on WAMU public radio in Washington, D.C.  Hall has twice been chosen Professor of the Year by student government at American University for her work with student groups.A  native of Abilene, Texas, Professor Hall earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and her master’s from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

"This tour de force" is "a definitive resource on politics and the media for years to come." It provides "expert analysis on the modern media’s  theoretical and ethical underpinnings" and "in-depth coverage of social media, race, immigration, women and media globalization, along with standout interviews with "a range of perspectives on the media and politics from the vantage points of U.S. senators, journalists, critics, and activists…"   "Reflecting Hall’s experience in engaging with the general public, the book is written in a jargon-free style that makes for an accessible read beyond academia" as well as "an ideal classroom text."

• Chapter 1: The Landscape of Media and Politics TodayThe 2016 Presidential ElectionMedia-Centered PoliticsThe Roles Media PlayThe Goals for This BookChapter 2: Underlying Concepts and Historical FoundationsMedia-Effects TheoryAgenda-Setting TheoryPriming TheoryFramingThe Power of the SensesSummaryChapter 3: Political Advertising: Persuasion and DeceptionSpending on Political AdvertisingPersuasive Techniques: From Classical Rhetoric to Product AdvertisingAdvertisements in Recent CampaignsSummaryChapter 4: Reporting the News: Cultural Bias, Trust, and AccountabilityBias toward Immediacy across MediaBias toward Conflict and Narrow DebateBias toward InsiderismBias toward Horse-Race CoverageBias toward Establishment Candidates and Perceived Front-RunnersBias toward Official SourcesBias toward Media NarrativesBias toward Objectivity in JournalismWhere Do We Go from Here?SummaryChapter 5: Politicians, the Media, and Social Media: The Push-Pull RelationshipCongress: Divided and GridlockedThe Presidency and the MediaCovering TrumpChanges in Coverage of Party ConventionsOutreach on Social Media—Messaging and MobilizingFake News/DisinformationThe 2020 Campaign and Moving ForwardCritiques and Self-Critiques of 2016SummaryChapter 6: Race and Immigration in Media and Politics: Protests, Policies, and ReformDeath of George FloydCoverage of Race and Ethnicity in the MediaThe Obama PresidencyImmigrationSummaryChapter 7: Global Media: The International InfluencerAmerican Exceptionalism and Global Public OpinionThe Coronavirus PandemicClimate ChangeHumanitarian CrisesTerrorismFar-Right Domestic TerrorismWartime CoverageSummaryChapter 8: The Media and Women in PoliticsGender Dynamics in Running for President“Hair, Hemlines, and Husbands”: Sexist Coverage and ImpactWomen World Leaders and Structural Barriers to Women Running in the U.S.Identity Politics and Voters in 2016Gender in Media and Politics in the 2020 Presidential CampaignKamala HarrisSummary