Some historians date the modern political era from 1960, when the Kennedy-Nixon debates first raised the question of image versus reality. Did Kennedy “win” the debates simply by looking better on television? Did Nixon “really win” because he scored more substantive points? These questions have vexed several generations of political scientists and practitioners alike.

Image versus reality. Nobody doubts that modern mass media have completely altered the terms of engagement from pre-radio days, when politics was up close and personal. But how do politicians and their aides take advantage of modern media? Do the media inherently favor one kind of candidate over another? Do they dictate a different style of public speech, one in which old-fashioned oratory necessarily gives way to something more low-keyed, better suited to the small confines of the TV screen? What difference does it make that we now have a 24-hour news cycle, thanks to the Internet and all-news cable TV networks? How, in short, is political communication changing in a world of new media technologies?

If you care about these questions, you just may be a prime candidate for our Political Communications program.

Our program is one-of-a-kind. It’s a combination of communication, journalism and political science. And it’s the only one in the country based in the heart of the Nation’s Capitol. Do you want to see politics in action? The White House is only four blocks away and they take interns. Capitol Hill, the Supreme Court, political activists—all here in Washington, D.C. Sometimes they even come to campus. This past year alone we were visited by President George W. Bush, former vice president Al Gore, Senator John McCain and presidential hopeful John Edwards.

Here you’ll master political theory, analyze political activity and media coverage, and foray into international relations. You’ll learn from a former U.S. Information Agency officer—Clinton-appointed—and a top consultant on delivering congressional testimony. Do you want to learn how to devise an effective political campaign? Our faculty will equip you with the ability to communicate strategically. And when you leave, you’ll join the ranks of our alumni working in and covering politics.