Studying the new communication of politics

A research agenda set forth in the 1975 book Political Communication is wel l suited for study in an era when conventional mass communication gives way to less centralized channels. Features of this approach include a focus on behavior and cognitions rather than inferred attitudes, close attention to measurement of media experience, conceptualization of curvilinear processe s that occur otter rime, comparative theorizing that can be tested across d ifferent national systems, and reconceptualization of communication as a pr ocess defined more by its functions than whether it occurs via mass media o r interpersonal channels.