Media, Elections and Democracy examines campaign communication in selected industrial democracies. Klaus Schoenbach, Karen Siune, Doris Graber and a host of authors around the world contribute critical overviews of the systems in their countries. The studies deal with a wide range of issues in modern communication, including the principles and practices of news and public affairs coverage and the impact of new technologies.

In modern democracies, election campaigns are contested to a large degree in the media. Most democracies have enacted regulations dealing with aspects of electoral communication out of concern for the legitimacy of the system. This document presents information on election communication in France; broadcasting and election communication in Britain; mass media and election campaigns in Germany; campaign communication in Scandinavia; campaign communication in Australian elections; the mass media and election campaigns in the United States of America; and mass media and elections in Canada.

Publisher Description

This timely research handbook offers a systematic and comprehensive examination of the election laws of democratic nations. Through a study of a range of different regimes of election law, it illuminates the disparate choices that societies have made concerning the benefits they wish their democratic institutions to provide, the means by which such benefits are to be delivered, and the underlying values, commitments, and conceptions of democratic self-rule that inform these choices.

Democratic Reform in New Brunswick is a comprehensive collection of research papers written initially for the New Brunswick Commission on Electoral Democracy. The essays provide detailed consideration of the many issues relating to democratic and electoral reform currently on the public policy agenda in Canada. Topics covered include: electoral system change, gender and representational issues, questions relating to party democracy, the role of legislators, concerns around drawing electoral boundaries, fixed election dates, direct democracy, and political disengagement among young voters. All of the essays examine the implications of various reform proposals in these areas and most draw upon the experiences of other jurisdictions in addressing how they might play out in the Canadian context. Many chapters also draw specifically upon the New Brunswick experience in considering how democratic reform might impact upon the province's politics. New Brunswick is Canada's only bilingual province with two vibrant linguistic communities and is in many ways a microcosm of the Canadian state. These readings provide insight into how issues related to democratic and electoral reform may play out on the national stage.

Media And Voters In Canadian Election Campaigns

Authored by a team of Canada's leading political scientists, the award-winning Canadian Democratic Audit represents one of the most ambitious examinations of Canadian democracy in recent political scholarship. Auditing Canadian Democracy marks the culmination of this landmark project. Using the uniquely Canadian benchmarks of participation, responsiveness, and inclusiveness, the contributors synthesize and update their findings from the original volumes. A concluding synopsis considers the various reform proposals put forth in the series. A lively and accessible examination of existing practices and reforms, this book's timely analysis should interest all citizens concerned with the health of our democracy.