The New Town Hall: Why We Engage Personally with PoliticiansDrawing on in-depth interviews with a wide variety of people, this book answers two questions: How and why do we personally engage with elected officials online and offline? What influence does this personal political engagement have on our democracy? Never before has it been so easy for Americans to make their personal views known to their elected officials. Citizens can tweet their opinions to their political representatives or respond to a Facebook post on politicians' pages to convey their approval or dislike for policies. They can engage politically through virtual town halls or show up in person at a protest easily organized through digital platforms. But this mediated relationship also makes it easy for politicians to push back against the opinions of their constituents by deriding their views or even blocking them online. The New Town Hall gives readers a firsthand look at personal political experiences through vivid stories from a variety of Americans. Researcher and former journalist Gina Masullo documents how Americans feel when they are blocked on social media and demonstrates how political talk with elected officials—both online and offline—leads to more involved types of political participation, such as protests or campaigning for political candidates. She contextualizes these personal political experiences with an eye toward understanding how these interactions influence the democratic process. |
Other editions - View all
The New Town Hall: Why We Engage Personally with Politicians Gina M. Masullo No preview available - 2020 |
Common terms and phrases
2016 Presidential activist affiliated Alt-Right Americans I interviewed Analytic Activism Barack Obama Biden campaign candidate chapter Chicago Christine Trost Civic Coronavirus David Karpf Democracy Democrat Donald edited elected officials engage personally engagement with politicians explains Facebook February feel felt following sources Freelon Gender Gina Masullo Chen Glenn Richardson Hashtag Hinda Mandell Ibid Incivility interactions Internet interview participants Joe Biden Journal of Communication July Kathleen Hall Jamieson Lawrence Rosenthal McGregor Media & Society Meredith Clark Michael X NPR.org Offline Online Oxford University Press Palgrave Macmillan Papacharissi Paromita Pain Partisan personal connection personal engagement personal political engagement Pew Research Center Polarization Political Participation political party political talk politicians politicians on social Post Public Deliberation Public Opinion Race Republican Routledge says Shannon Skype Slacktivism social media stories synopsis is based Tea Party Telephone interview Texas tion tweet Twitter Twitter account U.S. Presidential Election U.S. Senate vote voters York