Political Communication in the 2016 Presidential Race

Political communication is the intersection between the way the candidates, the public, and the media exchange information about politics. Examples range from rhetoric, to social media, to public outreach, as well as a host of others. Politicians must communicate effectively to get their messages to the voters, each doing so in hopes of guiding the public’s opinion favorably in their direction. The goal of the media is to gain viewership while (theoretically) reporting the truth, and disseminate key political information about the candidates for the purpose of educating voters, be it favorable or otherwise. However, as the public’s penchant towards social media and the internet for political information has us judging an article by its title, sensationalism and “click bait” in the media rises as they find it necessary to communicate as much as possible in a caption or headline.

Today there are increasingly more ways for candidates to be in constant communication with the public on a more personal level, while attempting to maintain more control over their image and appeal to the public in a different way. Donald Trump has appeared on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon as well as Saturday Night Live, and just last night the majority of the presidential candidates live tweeted President Obama's State of the Union address, each weighing in multiple times with their opinion of #POTUS and #SOTU.

The public communicates increasingly via social media, using memes, gifs, hashtags, et cetera to highlight moments or bring comedic interest to political communication. Though much of this is light hearted, it garners attention from those who may otherwise be apolitically inclined as they tune in to the #GOPdebate to see Ben Carson be spoken over like the youngest at the kiddy table, find out if Rand Paul really does look like Justin Timberlake, or watch Trump do… Trump things (like alienating entire subsets of voters...repeatedly).