Publisher Description

The Internet is now a part of American democracy. A majority of Americans are online and many of them use the Internet to learn political information and to follow election campaigns. Candidates now invest heavily in Web and e-mail campaign communication tools in order to reach prospective voters, as well as to communicate with journalists, potential donors, and political activists. How are their efforts paying off? Are voters influenced by what they see on theInternet? Do they use online resources to learn about issues and candidates that mainstream media are not covering? Is the Internet empowering the shrinking electorate to return to thepolls? Campaigning Online answers these questions with a close-up look at the dynamics of the 2000 election on the Internet. Examining how candidates present themselves online, and how voters respond to their efforts - including measures of whether they learn from candidates' web sites and whether their opinions are affected by what they see, the authors present the first systematic depiction of the role of campaign web sites in American elections. The authorspaint a portrait of the voters' side and the candidates' side of campaigning on the Internet that has been unavailable so far. They report on a wealth of new data and evidence drawn from national and state-widesurveys, laboratory experiments, interviews with campaign staff, and analysis of web sites themselves.

Author Biography

Bruce Bimber is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is also Director of the Center for Information Technology and Society Richard Davis is Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University

Review

" ... an excellent social science study of who went to campaign Web sites in 2000, and what effects the visits had on voter knowledge and behavior .... this book anchors our knowledge of the political utility of campaign Web sites."--Communication Booknotes Quarterly"A fascinating book on the ever-increasing role of the online campaign. Bimber and Davis provide valuable insights for students of the 2000 election cycle." --Senator Harry Reid, Nevada"This remarkable book resolves the debate about the nature of the Internet's role in election campaigns. Davis and Bimber's evidence is impeccable, and their analysis is faultless. Campaigning Online belongs on the bookshelves of election analysts and practitioners and on the required reading lists of courses on the media and campaigns." --Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government & the Press, Harvard University"This empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated analysis of the web-based American political campaign of 2000 avoids the anecdotal and typically breathless speculation about how the net will change human political behavior. Instead, this path breaking study documents how the web is becoming an integral part of the campaign process." --W. Russell Neuman, Evans Professor of Media Technology, University of Michigan"A much-needed, richly-textured empirical investigation of a key feature of online campaigning - candidate Web sites. Bimber and Davis provide a host of insights into how candidates are incorporating the Internet into their campaigns and what impact this is having on voters." --Thomas E. Mann, W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution" ... an excellent social science study of who went to campaign Web sites in 2000, and what effects the visits had on voter knowledge and behavior .... this book anchors our knowledge of the political utility of campaign Web sites."--Communication Booknotes Quarterly"A fascinating book on the ever-increasing role of the online campaign. Bimber and Davis provide valuable insights for students of the 2000 election cycle."--Senator Harry Reid, Nevada"This remarkable book resolves the debate about the nature of the Internet's role in election campaigns. Davis and Bimber's evidence is impeccable, and their analysis is faultless. Campaigning Online belongs on the bookshelves of election analysts and practitioners and on the required reading lists of courses on the media and campaigns."--Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government & the Press, Harvard University"This empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated analysis of the web-based American political campaign of 2000 avoids the anecdotal and typically breathless speculation about how the net will change human political behavior. Instead, this path breaking study documents how the web is becoming an integral part of the campaign process."--W. Russell Neuman, Evans Professor of Media Technology, University of Michigan"A much-needed, richly-textured empirical investigation of a key feature of online campaigning - candidate Web sites. Bimber and Davis provide a host of insights into how candidates are incorporating the Internet into their campaigns and what impact this is having on voters."--Thomas E. Mann, W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Promotional

Based on new evidence drawn from national and statewide surveys

Long Description

After a self-assured John F. Kennedy bested a visibly shaky Richard Nixon in their famous 1960 debates, political television, it was said, would henceforth determine elections. Today, many claim the Internet will be the latest medium to revolutionize electoral politics. Candidates invest heavily in web and email campaigns to reach prospective voters, as well as to communicate with journalists, potential donors, and political activists. Do these efforts influence
voters, expand democracy, increase the coverage of political issues, or mobilize a shrinking and apathetic electorate? Campaigning Online answers these questions by looking at how candidates
present themselves online and how voters respond to their efforts-including whether voters learn from candidates' websites and whether voters' views are affected by what they see. Although the Internet will not lead to a revolution in democracy, it will, Bimber and Davis argue, have consequences: reinforcing messages, mobilizing activists, and strengthening partisans' views. Reporting on a wealth of new data drawn from national and state-wide surveys, laboratory experiments, interviews with
campaign staff, and analysis of web sites themselves, Campaigning Online draws the most complete picture of the role of campaign websites in American elections to date.

Review Text

" ... an excellent social science study of who went to campaign Web sites in 2000, and what effects the visits had on voter knowledge and behavior .... this book anchors our knowledge of the political utility of campaign Web sites."--Communication Booknotes Quarterly
"A fascinating book on the ever-increasing role of the online campaign. Bimber and Davis provide valuable insights for students of the 2000 election cycle." --Senator Harry Reid, Nevada
"This remarkable book resolves the debate about the nature of the Internet's role in election campaigns. Davis and Bimber's evidence is impeccable, and their analysis is faultless. Campaigning Online belongs on the bookshelves of election analysts and practitioners and on the required reading lists of courses on the media and campaigns." --Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government & the Press, Harvard University
"This empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated analysis of the web-based American political campaign of 2000 avoids the anecdotal and typically breathless speculation about how the net will change human political behavior. Instead, this path breaking study documents how the web is becoming an integral part of the campaign process." --W. Russell Neuman, Evans Professor of Media Technology, University of Michigan
"A much-needed, richly-textured empirical investigation of a key feature of online campaigning - candidate Web sites. Bimber and Davis provide a host of insights into how candidates are incorporating the Internet into their campaigns and what impact this is having on voters." --Thomas E. Mann, W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
" ... an excellent social science study of who went to campaign Web sites in 2000, and what effects the visits had on voter knowledge and behavior .... this book anchors our knowledge of the political utility of campaign Web sites."--Communication Booknotes Quarterly
"A fascinating book on the ever-increasing role of the online campaign. Bimber and Davis provide valuable insights for students of the 2000 election cycle."--Senator Harry Reid, Nevada
"This remarkable book resolves the debate about the nature of the Internet's role in election campaigns. Davis and Bimber's evidence is impeccable, and their analysis is faultless. Campaigning Online belongs on the bookshelves of election analysts and practitioners and on the required reading lists of courses on the media and campaigns."--Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government & the Press, Harvard University
"This empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated analysis of the web-based American political campaign of 2000 avoids the anecdotal and typically breathless speculation about how the net will change human political behavior. Instead, this path breaking study documents how the web is becoming an integral part of the campaign process."--W. Russell Neuman, Evans Professor of Media Technology, University of Michigan
"A much-needed, richly-textured empirical investigation of a key feature of online campaigning - candidate Web sites. Bimber and Davis provide a host of insights into how candidates are incorporating the Internet into their campaigns and what impact this is having on voters."--Thomas E. Mann, W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Review Quote

"This remarkable book resolves the debate about the nature of theInternet's role in election campaigns. Davis and Bimber's evidence isimpeccable, and their analysis is faultless. Campaigning Online belongs on thebookshelves of election analysts and practitioners and on the required readinglists of courses on the media and campaigns."--Thomas E. Patterson, BradleeProfessor of Government and the Press, Harvard University

Feature

Based on new evidence drawn from national and statewide surveys
The broadest and deepest body of data available on the subject

Details