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Book Cover for: The Dynamics of Political Communication: Media and Politics in a Digital Age, Richard M. Perloff

The Dynamics of Political Communication: Media and Politics in a Digital Age

Richard M. Perloff

This fully updated fourth edition continues to provide comprehensive coverage of communication and politics, again focusing on the way politics and media impact democracy.

The book explores the intersection between politics and communication, drawing from leading scholarship in communication, political science, and political psychology. It describes the nature of today's political media; political socialization; key media effects, such as agenda-setting and framing; myths, biases and facts in political news; political advertising and presidential debates. This edition includes new and expanded discussions of free speech and misinformation on social media, presidential rhetoric, the 2022 and 2024 election campaigns and the January 6th investigation narrative. It also examines international examples such as the Ukraine War, populism in Hungary and Turkey, Russian propaganda, and TikTok.

The book is ideally suited for upper-level undergraduate and graduate political communication courses in communication, journalism, and political science programs.

This edition again features online resources with links to relevant news articles, videos, or other online materials. For instructors, an instructor's manual, including sample syllabi, chapter outlines, sample discussion questions, sample test questions, and lecture slides are also provided. Access the support materials at www.routledge.com/9781032613130.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Routledge
  • Publish Date: Aug 12nd, 2025
  • Pages: 500
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - 0004
  • Dimensions: 0.00in - 0.00in - 0.00in - 0.00lb
  • EAN: 9781032613130
  • Categories: Political Process - Media & InternetCommunication Studies

About the Author

Richard M. Perloff, Distinguished Professor of Communication, Political Science, and Psychology at Cleveland State University, is well-known for his scholarship on the third-person effect, political communication, and persuasion. Perloff has published articles in Communication Research, Communication Theory, and Mass Communication and Society, receiving a 2024 Article of the Year Award for a co-authored article (with L.J. Shen) on the third-person effect. He has published numerous essays in The Cleveland Plain Dealer and letters over the past several decades in The New York Times. A dedicated teacher, Perloff has received awards for his teaching at Cleveland State University.

Praise for this book

"The Dynamics of Political Communication rips open the playbook of modern politics, exposing how media, messaging, and digital propaganda don't just try to report reality. They create it. This book unveils the hidden machinery of persuasion that fuels division, manufactures outrage, and decides who holds power. I know you may think you are immune to media influence. Think again. Fortunately, The Dynamics of Political Communication is here to help you!"

Homero Gil de Zúñiga, Pennsylvania State University, USA

"Perloff cuts through the messy practices and powerful structures of American political communication with breadth, pace, and thoughtfulness. As fair as it is informative and loaded with relevant examples, this new edition provides a skeleton key for students no less than citizens and communications professionals to effectively negotiate the chaotic political swirl of the roaring 2020s."

Zac Gershberg, Idaho State University, USA

"In this latest 4th edition of The Dynamics of Political Communication, Rick Perloff once again performs admirable service for the field of media politics research, cataloging the advances taking place in a rapidly evolving information landscape and increasingly contentious political arena. Moving from definitions of contemporary politics to philosophical understandings of democracy, the book carefully explains diverse approaches to the study of political communication while covering foundational concepts, theories and cutting-edge research. Important aspects of political campaigning are inventoried, as well. Readers at all levels will come away with a more nuanced understanding of the vital press-politics-public nexus by engaging with the contents that await."

Erik P. Bucy, Texas Tech University, USA

"The Dynamics of Political Communication covers a wide variety of topics and provides a solid background and foundation of political communications that illustrates the multifaceted relationship of media and politics."
Molly Henderson, University of Memphis, USA

"This book addresses the need for timely coverage of recent political developments and emerging phenomena. Perloff has written a comprehensive theoretical and practical resource for those interested in the study of political campaigns, politicized debates, and media effects in a new information age. The textbook is essential for understanding the foundations of political communication and recommended for both undergraduate and graduate students."
Sergei A. Samoilenko, George Mason University, USA

"Perloff's new edition of The Dynamics of Political Communication empowers students to navigate the intricate and ever-evolving landscape of political communication. Through real-world examples and case studies, students gain a deep understanding of the role of media and communication in shaping public opinion, policy-making, and global affairs. In an age of political extremism, social media misinformation, culture wars, hyper-partisan media, propaganda, and artificial intelligence, Perloff equips students with an indispensable resource to appreciate the complex dynamics of political communication."
Marco Ehrl, Kutztown University, USA