From the roles of race and gender in American politics to the 2020 elections and the global coronavirus pandemic, Politics and the Media: Intersections and New Directions examines how media and political institutions interact to shape public thinking and debates around social problems, cultural norms, and policies.

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.

Chapter 1: The Landscape of Media and Politics Today
The 2016 Presidential Election
Media-Centered Politics
The Roles Media Play
The Goals for This Book
Chapter 2: Underlying Concepts and Historical Foundations
Media-Effects Theory
Agenda-Setting Theory
Priming Theory
Framing
The Power of the Senses
Summary
Chapter 3: Political Advertising: Persuasion and Deception
Spending on Political Advertising
Persuasive Techniques: From Classical Rhetoric to Product Advertising
Advertisements in Recent Campaigns
Summary
Chapter 4: Reporting the News: Cultural Bias, Trust, and Accountability
Bias toward Immediacy across Media
Bias toward Conflict and Narrow Debate
Bias toward Insiderism
Bias toward Horse-Race Coverage
Bias toward Establishment Candidates and Perceived Front-Runners
Bias toward Official Sources
Bias toward Media Narratives
Bias toward Objectivity in Journalism
Where Do We Go from Here?
Summary
Chapter 5: Politicians, the Media, and Social Media: The Push-Pull Relationship
Congress: Divided and Gridlocked
The Presidency and the Media
Covering Trump
Changes in Coverage of Party Conventions
Outreach on Social Media-Messaging and Mobilizing
Fake News/Disinformation
The 2020 Campaign and Moving Forward
Critiques and Self-Critiques of 2016
Summary
Chapter 6: Race and Immigration in Media and Politics: Protests, Policies, and Reform
Death of George Floyd
Coverage of Race and Ethnicity in the Media
The Obama Presidency
Immigration
Summary
Chapter 7: Global Media: The International Influencer
American Exceptionalism and Global Public Opinion
The Coronavirus Pandemic
Climate Change
Humanitarian Crises
Terrorism
Far-Right Domestic Terrorism
Wartime Coverage
Summary
Chapter 8: The Media and Women in Politics
Gender Dynamics in Running for President
"Hair, Hemlines, and Husbands": Sexist Coverage and Impact
Women World Leaders and Structural Barriers to Women Running in the U.S.
Identity Politics and Voters in 2016
Gender in Media and Politics in the 2020 Presidential Campaign
Kamala Harris
Summary