NEWS TIP SHEET
University of Colorado at Boulder Sources on 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 and congressional races in Colorado and the nation. He also can address the youth vote, campaign issues and tactics, and what polling can tell us. 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 comment on the 2008 presidential election, 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.
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, the maverick tradition in the Rocky Mountain West, 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 Peter Caughey at (303) 492-4007. Her e-mail address is patricia.limerick@colorado.edu.
Presidential Politics and Political Rhetoric. Michael Kanner, instructor of political science, can discuss political rhetoric, American foreign policy, the U.S. military and defense issues and terrorism. He is currently teaching courses on national security as well as the use of rhetoric in politics. His publications have focused on the effect of issue framing on decision making. He is best reached by e-mail at michael.kanner@colorado.edu. His office number is (303) 492-8637.
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 new book, "The Age of Oprah: Cultural Icon for the Neoliberal Era," offers insights into how Oprah's endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has affected the "Oprah brand" and how her support might influence the election. She can be reached at (303) 370-9092 or janice.peck@colorado.edu.
U.S. Political History and African-American History. Eric Love, associate professor of history, can discuss the significance of this year's presidential race in U.S. political and African-American history, the 1908 Democratic National Convention in Denver, and the history of the Democratic and Republican parties. Love can be reached at (303) 861-0831, (303) 492-4412 or eric.love@colorado.edu and ericlove03@hotmail.com.
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 (303) 492-4833 or hoover@colorado.edu.
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. 暗网禁区 600 youth were interviewed before and after the 2006 midterm elections, and a subsample was interviewed again after the Super Tuesday 2008 primaries. He can be reached at (303) 735-0460 or michael.mcdevitt@colorado.edu.
The National Economy and the Presidential Election. Richard Wobbekind can provide insights on the local, state, regional and national economies. He leads a comprehensive annual forecast of the state economy that CU-Boulder has issued for decades. An economist, Wobbekind is an associate dean at the Leeds School of Business and director of the school's Business Research Division. He can be reached at (303) 492-1147 or richard.wobbekind@colorado.edu.
Media Coverage of the Presidential Race. 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.
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 can be reached at (303) 735-6515 or mathew.hayward@colorado.edu.