Wesleyan Media Project Co-Directors Author Book on Political Advertising

Assistant Professor of Government Erika Franklin Fowler and her collaborators on the Wesleyan Media Project are the authors of a new book, Political Advertising in the United States, published in February by Westview Press. The book is edited by Ada Fung ’06.

Fowler’s co-authors are Michael Franz of Bowdoin College and Travis Ridout of Washington State University.

Political Advertising in the United States is a comprehensive survey of the political advertising landscape and its influence on voters. The authors draw from the latest data to analyze how campaign finance laws have affected the sponsorship and content of political advertising, how “big data” has allowed for more sophisticated targeting, and how the Internet and social media have changed the distribution of ads. The book includes detailed analysis of presidential and congressional campaign ads and discussion questions in each chapter.

See the Wesleyan Media Project’s latest analyses of campaign advertising in the 2016 elections here.