David Barker 
Rushed to Judgment 
Talk Radio, Persuasion, and American Political Behavior

Convenient, entertaining, and provocative, talk radio today is unapologetically ideological. Focusing on Rush Limbaugh—the medium’s most influential talk show—
Rushed to Judgment systematically examines the politics of persuasion at play on our nation’s radio airwaves and asks a series of important questions. Does listening to talk radio change the way people think about politics, or are listeners’ attitudes a function of the self-selecting nature of the audience? Does talk radio enhance understanding of public issues or serve as a breeding ground for misunderstanding? Can talk radio serve as an agent of deliberative democracy, spurring Americans to open, public debate? Or will talk radio only aggravate the divisive partisanship many Americans decry in poll after poll? The time is ripe to evaluate the effects of a medium whose influence has yet to be fully reckoned with.

Tabella dei contenuti

List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Political Talk Radio and Its Most Prominent Practitioner
3. Toward a Value Heresthetic Model of Political Persuasion
4. Talk Radio, Public Opinion, and Vote Choice: The ‘Limbaugh Effect, ‘ 1994-96
5. Talk Radio, Opinion Leadership, and Presidential Nominations: Evidence from the 2 Republican Primary Battles
6. The Talk Radio Community: Nontraditional Social Networks and Political Participation
7. Information, Misinformation, and Political Talk Radio
8. Conclusion
Appendix A. The Limbaugh Message
Appendix B. Excerpts from the Rhetoric Stimulus
Appendix C. Excerpts from the Value Heresthetic Stimulus
Notes
References
Index

Circa l’autore

David Barker is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Prof. Barker has published several articles on talk radio in the
Journal of Politics, Social Science Quarterly, and
Political Communication.