Half of our eligible citizens fail to cast a presidential ballot and many more than half routinely ignore state and local elections. Does this phenomenon point to a crisis of democracy or does such behavior simply reflect indifference ¿ or even contentment ¿ among the public? Should we be alarmed that so many of our citizens seem disinterested and unwilling to participate in the various activities and forms of association that constitute civic life? If we are concerned by such matters, what might be done to reengage those who are seemingly disengaged? This book explores these questions and examines the well being of our civic condition at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Grounded in a communication perspective, we view the fundamental nature of a democracy as that of a civic dialogue ¿ an ongoing conversation between our elected leaders or political candidates and the citizens they lead or wish to lead. Accordingly, the studies presented in this volume examine our civic sphere and the electoral process as a communicative interaction between elected officials, political candidates, the media, and citizens. Half of our eligible citizens fail to cast a presidential ballot and many more than half routinely ignore state and local elections. Does this phenomenon point to a crisis of democracy or does such behavior simply reflect indifference - or even contentment - among the public? Should we be alarmed that so many of our citizens seem disinterested and unwilling to participate in the various activities and forms of association that constitute civic life? If we are concerned by such matters, what might be done to reengage those who are seemingly disengaged? This book explores these questions and examines the well being of our civic condition at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Grounded in a communication perspective, we view the fundamental nature of a democracy as that of a civic dialogue - an ongoing conversation between our elected leaders or political candidates and the citizens they lead or wish to lead. Accordingly, the studies presented in this volume examine our civic sphere and the electoral process as a communicative interaction between elected officials, political candidates, the media, and citizens. PART I COMMUNICATING THE IMPORTANCE OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 1 The Role of Communication in Civic Engagement 3(24) Mitchell S. McKinney, Lynda Lee Kaid, and Dianne G. Bystrom 2 An Overview of the 'State of Citizens' Knowledge About Politics 27(14) Michael X. Delli Carpini 3 An Optimistic Reassessment of Political Communication in the United States 41(18) Trevor Parry-Giles and Shawn J. Parry-Giles 4 Communicating the Importance of Civic Participation in Census woo: "How America Knows What America Needs" 59(10) Bey-Ling Sha and La Verne V Collins 5 How Government Can Enhance Civic Engagement: A Perspective from the State 69(18) Chester J. Culver Reflections on Civic Engagement I Low Voter Turnout and the Decline of American Civic Participation 79(8) Curtis Gans Reflections on Civic Engagement II Nonvoters: Who Are America's No-Shows? 87(20) Ellen Shearer PART II COMMUNICATING POLITICS THROUGH THE MEDIA 6 Communicating Politics Through the Media: What's Wrong and How Can We Fix It? 95(12) David L. Paletz 7 The Media Participation Hypothesis 107(16) Erik P. Bucy 8 Media Content and Candidate Viability: The Case of Elizabeth Dole 123(12) Dianne G. Bystrom 9 Public Voices on Network News: Broadening the Discussion 135 Stephanie Greco Larson PART III CANDIDATES COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC 10 Advertising Messages: Direct Candidate to Voter Communication in the 2000 Presidential Primaries 147(16) L. Patrick Devlin 11 Visual Manipulations in Political Spot Ads in the 2000 Presidential Primaries: A Source of Voter Alienation? 163(12) Lynda Lee Kaid, Ben Keener, and Mike Chanslor 12 The Internet and Democracy: John McCain's New Approach to Politicking 175(14) Suzanne Larson and Patricia Paystrup 13 Campaigning in Cyberspace: Lessons for Political Communication in the "Net" Century 189(12) James E. Tomlinson 14 The Limitations of E-Democracy 201(8) Anne Hildreth, Leah A. Murray, and J. Cherie Strachan 15 Engaging Citizens Through Presidential Debates: Does the Format Matter? 209(14) Mitchell S. McKinney 16 DebateWatch: Creating a Public Sphere for the Unheard Voices 223(12) Diana B. Carlin Reflections on Presidential Debates I A Presidential Debates Retrospective 235(6) Sander Vanocur Reflections on Presidential Debates II Presidential Debates Help Voters Find the Information They Need, When They Need It 241(8) Edward M. Fouhy PART IV COMMUNICATING DIVERSE MESSAGES TO DIVERSE CONSTITUENCIES 17 Issues, Inclusion, and Illusion: The 2000 Republican National Convention Reaches Out 249(12) Marilyn S. Roberts and Guy Golan 18 Making Politics Responsive to Women: Gender, Policy, and Political Participation 261(8) Amy B. Caiazza 19 Engaging the Gap: Exploring the Gender Gap and Its Influence on the 2000 Presidential Election 269(12) Mary Christine Banwart 20 Courting Women Voters: Candidate Message Strategies and the Gender Gap 281(12) Ann E. Burnette 21 Political Interest and Media Use: Analyzing the Youth Vote 293(6) Aria Bernstein 22 Engaging the Disengaged: Understanding Young Citizens' Political Malaise 299(12) Julia A. Spiker Contributors 311(2) Index 313