The reviews for "POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS AND POLITICAL ADVERTISING: A MEDIA LITERACY GUIDE"
   are in....read them below...

 
  The media converge on John Edwards and Hillary Clinton during appearances in SC during the 2008 race for the presidency. (photos by Frank Baker)

  How do the media cover the race for the presidency?
  How have candidates (past and present) used the media?
  How do media cover the conventions and debates?
  What do news consumers understand about campaign coverage?
  What is the role of the political campaign media consultant?
  How is stagecraft used in political events?
  How can "media literacy" be used as a lens to examine the race for the White House?
  Where can citizens find accurate and reliable info about candidates and issues?

  These are just some of the questions I sought to answer in writing the new book:
  "Political Campaigns and Political Advertising: A Media Literacy Guide."

  This text will appeal to students of: American History; Advertising; Political Science, Social Studies, Mass Communications,
  Media Studies and more. Details are posted below.

  American Reference Books Annual (ARBAonline):  "The book is well researched and extremely well written. It is indexed for ease of use and
  provides ample citations to back up his findings and for further research. Baker's authority is strong, and the work is free from obvious bias. The
  photographs, charts,  and graphs are well rendered and add to the power of the book. The price is even reasonable. The amount of information
  presented would make this a great book for circulating as well as reference collections. It would be an excellent addition to the collections of large
  public libraries and academic libraries supporting programs in communication or political science, and is highly recommended."

  Research & Reference Book News' review:  "Baker, a media literacy consultant and author, has written this media literacy guide
  for general readers who want more critical insight into propaganda and spin, political advertising and the role of new media technologies
  in election campaigns. The author uses clear and easy-to-understand language to examine and interpret the content of media messages
  in print, image and multimedia forms in an objective manner.  The author supplies both a timeline of the history of media in politics from
  1913 to the present and a glossary of political and media terms."

  Midwest Book Review: "Politics and the media have been inseparable from the founding of our country down to the present day. In the
  colonial era media came in the form of local newspapers and printed broadsheet tacked up on bulletin boards and distributed by hand. Today
  media has evolved into the cybernetic world of the internet. In order to understand how the American political system works it is necessary
  to understand the fundamentally central role that media plays in all its various forms. That's where "Political Campaigns And Political Advertising:
  A Media Literacy Guide" by Frank W. Baker (a professional media consultant and the webmaster of Media Literacy Clearinghouse) proves to be
  such a highly recommended addition to academic and community library Political Science reference collections. "Political Campaigns And Political
  Advertising" begins by defining the term 'media literacy', the concepts of propaganda and 'spin', the role of media consultants, the media
  categories of photography, radio, television, political advertising, campaign event analysis, and the new internet media applications and
  technologies. Of special note is the chapter focused on 'Trying to Fix the Money Problem in Elections'. Enhanced with the inclusion of a glossary,
  a resources list, and an index, "Political Campaigns And Political Advertising" is especially commended to the attention of the non-specialist
  general reader with an interest in the role media plays in American politics today."
 

   TheWritingSite.org:  "This literacy guide offers students an opportunity to study the intersection of persuasive language and media through the
   lens of political campaigning and advertising. “It dissects the persuasive strategies embedded in the political messages we encounter every day in
   the media and demonstrates the importance of critical thinking in evaluating media 'stories.' Key concepts of media literacy are applied to political
   advertising in traditional media (newspapers, television, radio) and on the Internet, the new frontier of the political advertising wars. Dealing with
   blogs, social networking, user-generated web sites, and other electronic formats familiar to young voters, this lively introduction to the new world
   of political messaging appeals to readers' affinity for visual learning as well as their ability to discern messages in text.”

    Amazon.com reviewer:  "This is an excellent, easy-to-understand, well-illustrated book on political communications."