Awards

• Winner of Winner, 2022 Roderick P. Hart Outstanding Book Award, National Communication Association Political Communication Division.

Overview

"American democracy is in a period of striking tumult. The clash of a rapidly changing socio-technological environment and the traditional presidency has led to an upheaval in the scope and standards of executive leadership. Yet research on the presidency, although abundant, has been slow to adjust to changing realities associated with digital technologies, diverse audiences, and new elite practices. Meanwhile, journalists and the public continue to encounter and shape emerging presidential efforts in deeply consequential ways. Joshua Scacco and Kevin Coe bring needed insight to this complex situation by offering the first comprehensive framework for understanding contemporary presidential communication in relation to the current socio-technological environment. They call this framework the ""ubiquitous presidency."" Scacco and Coe argue that presidents harness new opportunities in the media environment to create a nearly constant and highly visible presence in political and nonpolitical arenas. They do this by trying to achieve longstanding presidential goals, namely visibility, adaptation, and control. However, in an environment where accessibility, personalization, and pluralism are omnipresent considerations, the strategies presidents use to achieve these goals are very different from what we once knew. Using this novel framework as a conceptual anchor, The Ubiquitous Presidency undertakes one of the most expansive analyses of presidential communication to date. Scacco and Coe employ a wide variety of approaches--ranging from surveys and survey-experiments, to large-scale automated content and network analyses, to qualitative textual analysis--to uncover new aspects of the intricate relationship between the president, news media, and the public. Focusing on the presidency since Ronald Reagan, and devoting particular attention to the cases of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the book uncovers remarkable shifts in communication that test the institution of the presidency and, consequently, democratic governance itself."

Full Product Details

9780197520642

Table of Contents

Reviews

Scacco and Coe bring the digital into the center of research on presidential communication by uniting theories of public opinion, rhetoric, and the institutional presidency. They provide a thorough and deep understanding of presidential communication as accessible, personal, and entailing multiple platforms-as necessarily ubiquitous. This insightful analysis of how presidents communicate and the audiences they hope to reach will interest scholars of the presidency in political science, communication, and history; it is useful to scholars and accessible to their students. -Mary E. Stuckey, The Pennsylvania State University, and author of Deplorable Elections: Despicable Discourse in American Presidential Campaigns The Ubiquitous Presidency is an important work that will influence the direction of research on presidential communication for years to come. Scacco and Coe have written a definitive study of the nature of elite political communication that has emerged along with transformative digital innovation and provide a pathbreaking framework for analysis. Impeccably researched, historically rich, and interdisciplinary in perspective, the text succeeds in being a robust academic investigation that is accessible to diverse audiences of scholars, students, and people interested in politics. * Diana Owen, Georgetown University * Scacco and Coe have provided a thoughtful and in-depth analysis on how communications helped create the 'Ubiquitous Presidency.' Certainly, to preserve our democracy, it will be critical for our citizens to fully comprehend the profound impact that the rapid growth of digital media will continue to play as we elect public officials to represent us and govern. The 'Ubiquitous Presidency' helps the reader understand the evolution of these powerful communications tools and compels us to think critically when choosing our leaders. * David Almacy, former White House Internet Director *

The Ubiquitous Presidency is an important work that will influence the direction of scholarship on presidential communication for years to come. ... Impeccably researched, historically rich, and interdisciplinary in perspective, the text succeeds in being a robust academic investigation that is accessible to audiences of scholars, students, and people interested in politics. * Mass Communication and Society * With engaging prose and compelling data, Scacco and Coe construct a history of presidential communication strategies to highlight the benefits and dangers of the contemporary digital environment as it becomes the ubiquitous presidency. This book is sure to serve as a foundational text for future scholars who will grapple with new information technology, the spread of disinformation, and their potential to influence the future of representative democracy. * Presidential Studies Quarterly * [Updates the extant research on presidential communication and prepare[s] readers for understanding future campaigns and administrations in an age where what it means to be presidential has continued to evolve. * Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly * The Ubiquitous Presidency, offers a lifeline by presenting a clear and effective framework for understanding presidential communications in a digital world where the traditional norms for presidential agenda-setting are no longer tenable. ... One of the important contributions of this book is the roadmap it provides for future scholarship. * Journal of Communication * Scacco and Coe have provided a thoughtful and in-depth analysis on how communications helped create the 'Ubiquitous Presidency.' Certainly, to preserve our democracy, it will be critical for our citizens to fully comprehend the profound impact that the rapid growth of digital media will continue to play as we elect public officials to represent us and govern. The 'Ubiquitous Presidency' helps the reader understand the evolution of these powerful communications tools and compels us to think critically when choosing our leaders. * David Almacy, former White House Internet Director * The Ubiquitous Presidency is an important work that will influence the direction of research on presidential communication for years to come. Scacco and Coe have written a definitive study of the nature of elite political communication that has emerged along with transformative digital innovation and provide a pathbreaking framework for analysis. Impeccably researched, historically rich, and interdisciplinary in perspective, the text succeeds in being a robust academic investigation that is accessible to diverse audiences of scholars, students, and people interested in politics. * Diana Owen, Georgetown University * Scacco and Coe bring the digital into the center of research on presidential communication by uniting theories of public opinion, rhetoric, and the institutional presidency. They provide a thorough and deep understanding of presidential communication as accessible, personal, and entailing multiple platforms-as necessarily ubiquitous. This insightful analysis of how presidents communicate and the audiences they hope to reach will interest scholars of the presidency in political science, communication, and history; it is useful to scholars and accessible to their students. -Mary E. Stuckey, The Pennsylvania State University, and author of Deplorable Elections: Despicable Discourse in American Presidential Campaigns

Author Information

Joshua M. Scacco is an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of South Florida. He is an expert on political communication and news media, having published more than 50 academic articles, book chapters, and public research papers as well as provided commentary for national and local news outlets. Kevin Coe is a Professor of Communication at the University of Utah. He has published more than 50 academic articles and chapters, and is the coauthor of The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America.

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