1. Foundations -- The panoply of political communication -- What is political communication? -- The study of political communication -- Media and political knowledge -- Contemporary political socialization -- 2. Political news -- Agenda-setting -- Agenda-building -- Framing -- Behind political news: myths and realities -- Unpacking political news -- 3. Communication and the election campaign -- Political campaigns past and present -- The main players in political campaigns -- Nominations and the news -- Persuasion and political campaigns -- Political advertising -- Presidential debates.