This new edition of Bennett's landmark work has been completely updated and is now part of the “Longman Classics in Political Science” series, featuring a new Foreword by Doris Graber.

The book has been thoroughly revised and updated, introducing up-to-the-minute case studies, the latest research, and the rise of a digital information system without changing its lively writing style or its provocative point of view. This favorite of both instructors and students is a behind-the-scenes tour of communication in American politics, from the newsroom to the war room to the living room. The core question explored in this book is: How well does the news, as the core of the national political information system, serve the needs of democracy? In exploring this question, we examine how various political actors—from presidents and members of Congress, to interest organizations and citizen-activists—try to get their messages into the news.