On the Ballot, Behind the Scenes, and on the Bus: Women in Presidential Politics (Communication, Media, and Politics)

Instead of focusing exclusively on the gender of candidates for the presidency, this book will explore how the gender of journalists covering Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin and the other candidates in 2008 affected news coverage, as well as issues about how the gender of campaign managers and strategists affected the campaign process. The key questions Skewes will focus on are: Is news coverage reported by women on the campaign trail qualitatively different from the news generated by men covering the election? Do women journalists have the same kind of access to candidates, campaign strategists and other campaign officials as the 'boys on the bus'? Are women candidates treated differently from the men running for the same office, and why? Do campaign managers think that women candidates do better when they focus on 'women's issues,' such as education and human welfare issues? How do women candidates and those who run their campaigns deal with the 'hair, hemlines, and husbands' coverage that often dominates their news coverage? And finally, what do women need to do to win the White House?