Press Room

Experts Available to Provide Communication Insights into Republican Presidential Nominee Debate

July 31, 2015
Experts Available
Government, Political

In just a few days, the Republican presidential primary debate will take place in Cleveland, Ohio. The debate will be broadcast nationally on August 6 at 5:00 p.m. EST (lower tier candidates) and 9:00 p.m. (top 10 candidates). Both events will likely be followed by televised commentary on the performance of the candidates. Several scholars of political communication are available to provide insights on the candidates’ presentations and their implications for the Republican nomination and the presidential race. A few questions they may answer:     

  • How important is a debate like this to choosing a party’s nominee?   
  • How does the large number of debaters affect the quality of the interactions?   
  • What constitutes “winning” and “losing” in an event like this?   
  • How does the format of the debate impact how much viewers can learn about the candidates?   
  • How does this debate compare to previous election cycle debates?    
WHO:
Vanessa Beasley
Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies
Vanderbilt University 
Research: U.S. political communication and presidential rhetoric
 
Jay Childers 
Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies
University of Kansas
Research: Political communication and democratic citizenship
 
Lance Holbert
Professor and Chair, School of Media and Communication
Temple University
Research:  Political communication and the influence of the media
 
Mitchell McKinney
Professor and Chair, Department of Communication 
University of Missouri 
Research: U.S. political communication and presidential debates  
 
CONTACT:
To schedule an interview with any of these experts, please contact Meghan Gibbons at mgibbons@natcom.org or 202-534-1104, or Wendy Fernando at wfernando@natcom.org or 202-534-1107.
About the National Communication Association

The National Communication Association (NCA) advances Communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific, and aesthetic inquiry. NCA serves the scholars, teachers, and practitioners who are its members by enabling and supporting their professional interests in research and teaching. Dedicated to fostering and promoting free and ethical communication, NCA promotes the widespread appreciation of the importance of communication in public and private life, the application of competent communication to improve the quality of human life and relationships, and the use of knowledge about communication to solve human problems. NCA supports inclusiveness and diversity among our faculties, within our membership, in the workplace, and in the classroom; NCA supports and promotes policies that fairly encourage this diversity and inclusion.

For more information, visit natcom.org, follow us on Twitter at @natcomm, and find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NationalCommunicationAssociation.