The Mass Media and Latino Politics

"The Mass Media and Latino Politics comes at an important time when the growing Latino population--in all its diversity and complexity--is reshifting the ways in which we imagine the intersection of politics, culture, and media. The book should be required reading for students, scholars and practitioners interested in studying an important area of the US political landscape, but more importantly, for those interested in developing meaningful and effective political coverage for and about Latinos. The edited volume by Federico Subervi-Velez has the breadth and depth for more deeply understanding the importance of mass media in the political and cultural life of Latinos, and as a result, the book makes an important contribution to studies of political communication." Mari Castaneda, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Acting Chair, Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst "This volume is a must read for scholars, teachers and civic office holders who seek to understand the interrelationships between Latinos, media and politics. It is a concentrated text with insights on audiences and media content that all political communication faculty and students should read. Particularly in today's charged campaign atmosphere this volume holds a special value because it addresses issues of ethnicity/race, language and culture in ways in which other books cannot. Few political communication specialists can tackle the past, present and future of the mass media as it pertains to Latinos and politics." Diana I. Rios, Ph.D., Department of Communication Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs "The chapters in this volume by political scientists and communication researchers offer both scholarly evidence and insightful analyses of the roles members of this ethnic group and the media directed toward them have played, are playing and will continue to play in influencing the U.S. electoral process! the authors take a more systematic approach in examining the ways in which political campaign strategies, core messages and targeted campaigns have been shaped by the growing political power of Latinos and the influence of the media that reach them, especially in key battleground states during national elections. This multidimensional approach in examining campaigns across several decades represents a significant contribution to the body of knowledge and analysis that is available to shape our understanding of the influence of media on the political attitudes and behaviors of Latinos in the United States." Felix F. Gutierrez, Ph.D., Professor of Journalism, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California