Political Humor in a Changing Media Landscape

In the past decade various studies have examined how political humor may influence various political attitudes and voting behavior; whether it affects learning, cognition and media literacy, how it might shape political participation; how people process different forms of political humor; and more. This book is devoted to anticipating and addressing where the field of political humor and its effects will move in the next generation of scholarship, exploring the continued evolution of the study of political humor as well as the normative implications of these developments. It includes research accounting for important changes and developments "on the ground" in the political humor landscape. These include the fact that the cadre of late-night television hosts have completely changed in the past 3 years; there are now more late night television choices; and many hosts have become more overtly political in their presentations. Recommended for scholars of communication, media studies, and political science.

“In Political Humor in a Changing Media Landscape: A New Generation of Research, Baumgartner and Becker have succeeded in compiling a theoretically and methodologically rich body of work from today's preeminent scholars of political humor and satire. The volume features cutting edge experimental and survey research as well as content and rhetorical analysis to explore the predictors and effects of exposure to political humor and the strategic use of humor by political figures. This important work is a must-have for those working in the area of political humor content, processing, and effects.”

This timely volume reflects the truly diverse and interdisciplinary nature of the study of political humor: a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches that update theory and understanding of humor in an increasingly hybrid media environment. That several chapters engage in comparative analyses makes the book valuable beyond the typical US context.

This book comes just at the right time. A critical mass of political humor scholarship has formed in the discipline and we need an assessment of where we stand at the moment. This edited collection provides researchers with a clear sense of what we know and what we need to address with continued research.

Jody C Baumgartner is Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of political science at East Carolina University.

Amy B. Becker is associate professor in the Department of Communication at Loyola University Maryland.

In the past decade various studies have examined how political humor may influence various political attitudes and voting behavior; whether it affects learning, cognition and media literacy, how it might shape political participation; how people process different forms of political humor; and more. This book is devoted to anticipating and addressing where the field of political humor and its effects will move in the next generation of scholarship, exploring the continued evolution of the study of political humor as well as the normative implications of these developments. It includes research accounting for important changes and developments "on the ground" in the political humor landscape. These include the fact that the cadre of late-night television hosts have completely changed in the past 3 years; there are now more late night television choices; and many hosts have become more overtly political in their presentations. Recommended for scholars of communication, media studies, and political science.

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