Includes bibliographical references (pages 226-254) and index.
The American media system today: is the public fragmenting? / Natalie (Talia) Jomini Stroud, Ashley Muddiman -- The era of media distrust and its consequences for perceptions of political reality / Jonathan M. Ladd -- Making the news: is local television news coverage really that bad? / Erika Franklin Fowler -- News media and war: warmongers or peacemakers? / Piers Robinson -- Campaigns go social: are Facebook, YouTube and Twitter changing elections? / Stephanie Edgerly, Leticia Bode, Young Mie Kim, Dhavan V. Shah -- Negative campaigns: are they good for American democracy? / Yanna Krupnikov, Beth C. Easter -- Targeting campaign messages: good for campaigns but bad for America? / Michael M. Franz -- Do the media give women candidates a fair shake? / Regina G. Lawrence -- Congress and the media: who has the upper hand? / C. Danielle Vinson -- To speak is to lead? Conditional modern presidential leadership of public opinion / Brandon Rottinghaus, Matthew Lang -- Political dynamics of framing / Samara Klar, Joshua Robison, James N. Druckman -- The news anew? Political coverage in a transformed media age / Danny Hayes -- Politics in the digital age: a scary prospect / Roderick P. Hart