Functional Analysis of Political Television Advertisements

William L. Benoit is professor of communication studies at Ohio University.

• PrefacePart I: Preliminaries1. Introduction: Political Television Spots2. Method: The Functional Approach to Political AdvertisingPart II: Presidential Campaigns3. In the Beginning: 1952, 1956; The Democrats Ascend: 1960, 19644. Nixon’s Return: 1968, 1972; After Watergate: 1976, 19805. Republicans in Control: 1984, 1988; The End of the Millennium: 1992, 19966. George W. Bush in the Oval Office: 2000, 2004; Barack Obama, African American President, 2008, 20127. Primary Campaigns: Who Shall Lead Us?8. Third-Party Candidate Political TV Spots: Another ChoicePart III: Other Campaigns9. Other Theories: Issue Ownership and Functional Federalism in Political TV Spots10. Non-Presidential and Non-U.S. TV SpotsPart IV: Comparisons11. Trends and Contrasts of Political Television Spots12. Development of American Political Television Spots13. Conclusions and ImplicationsAppendix. Functional Theory CodebookReferences

Benoit is a communication scholar of the highest order, a researcher who reveals the importance of studying message. A Functional Analysis of Political Television Advertisements is exhaustive in its analysis of a wide range of spots created for candidates varying in level of government, stage of campaign, and nation. There are few works that parallel Benoit’s effort in producing a generalizable set of findings that reflect genuine insights, and it is sure to have a sustained impact on the field.