NEWS TIP SHEET
CU-Boulder Sources on Pennsylvania Primary, 2008 Election
Presidential Election and Congressional Races. Kenneth Bickers, professor and chair of the political science department, can comment on this year's presidential election, the youth vote, campaign issues and tactics, and what polling can tell us. He also can address congressional races in Colorado and nationally. Bickers can be reached at (303) 492-2363 or bickers@colorado.edu.
Presidential Election and Congressional Races. Scott Adler, associate professor of political science, can discuss the 2008 presidential election. Adler also follows, and can comment on, Colorado congressional races and several national congressional races. Adler is best reached by e-mail at e.scott.adler@colorado.edu. His office number is (303) 492-6659.
Presidential Politics and Political Rhetoric: Michael Kanner, instructor of political science, can discuss political rhetoric and presidential politics, interest-group politics, American foreign policy, the U.S. military and defense issues, terrorism and government ethics. He is currently teaching courses on security issues and has taught classes on interest-group politics and regularly gives talks on the Catholic Church as a political institution. His research focuses on the effect that the framing of issues has on decision making. He is best reached by e-mail at michael.kanner@colorado.edu. His office number is (303) 492-7138.
The National Economy and the Presidential Election. Richard Wobbekind can provide insights into the national economy, which has become a critical issue in the presidential primaries. "The weak dollar is actually the only factor keeping us out of recession," Wobbekind said. "It boosts economic sectors that have substantial exports like agriculture, tourism and transportation, and regions with strong export trade like the Pacific Northwest. It is part of the reason we forecast a small growth in the national economy for 2008." An economist, Wobbekind is associate dean for external relations at the Leeds School of Business and director of the school's Business Research Division. He can be reached at (303) 492-1147.
Message Control on the Presidential Campaign Trail. Elizabeth Skewes, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication and author of the recently published "Message Control: How News is Made on the Presidential Campaign Trail," can discuss the factors that influence news coverage of presidential candidates during the campaign, candidate legitimacy and the press, trends in news coverage of both political conventions and the primaries in newspapers and popular magazines, and content analysis of the 2008 campaign. Skewes can be reached at (303) 709-6958 or elizabeth.skewes@colorado.edu.
Religion and Politics: Stewart M. Hoover, professor of journalism and mass communication and director of CU-Boulder's Center for Media, Religion and Culture, can discuss how religion is involved in politics and how the news media cover those issues. He can be reached at hoover@colorado.edu.
Presidential Debates: Gerard Hauser, professor of communication, is an expert in political communication and can discuss the presidential and vice presidential debates. Hauser believes debates are critical to the outcome of the presidential election. He can be reached at (303) 546-6964.
Youth Civic Identity. Michael McDevitt, associate professor of journalism and mass communication, can discuss how schools, parents, churches and peer groups contribute to the ideological and partisan identities of youth in red states and blue states. While parents and churches are more important factors in conservative regions, social studies curricula, news media and peer groups appear more consequential in liberal communities. His current research traces patterns of influence in five red states and five blue states. About 600 youth were interviewed before and after the 2006 midterm elections, and a subsample will be interviewed again after the Super Tuesday 2008 primaries. He can be reached at (303) 735-0460 or michael.mcdevitt@colorado.edu.
Western Issues and the Presidential Election. Patty Limerick, professor of history and environmental studies, and faculty chair of the Center of the American West, can discuss Western issues in this year's presidential election and whether or not they are being addressed by the candidates. Limerick also can discuss how changes in the American West are affecting this year's presidential election and the candidates' campaigns, how many current issues have roots in the region's past, how U.S. political parties have changed over time, colorful characters in Western political history and what Denver and the West were like when William Jennings Bryan was nominated during the last Democratic National Convention in Denver in 1908. Limerick is best reached through Amanda Dixon at (303) 492-4879. Her e-mail address is patricia.limerick@colorado.edu.
Political Leaders and Hubris. Mathew Hayward of the Leeds School of Business can discuss the challenge for leaders to avoid moving from healthy self-esteem to self-destructive grandiosity. "There is nothing worse than pretending you are more than you are, or pretending you are someone you are not," Hayward said. "Leaders must work actively to undertake the necessary checks to their egos that will defuse their own hubris." An associate professor of management and author of "Ego Check: Why Executive Hubris Is Wrecking Careers And Companies And How To Avoid the Trap." Hayward believes many of the same factors that lead executives to self-destruct can affect candidates and office holders. Hayward is available at (303) 735-6515.
Oprah's Endorsement of Barack Obama: Janice Peck, associate professor of journalism and mass communication, is a national expert on television talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Her upcoming book "The Age of Oprah," to be published next month, will offer insights into how Oprah's endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama might affect the "Oprah brand." She can be reached at (303) 370-9092 or janice.peck@colorado.edu.