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Political communication timely topic for NCA 2000 summer conference in
Washington, DC
Communicating Politics: Engaging the Public in Campaign 2000 and Beyond was a summer
conference co-sponsored by NCA, the Political Communication Center at the University
of Oklahoma, and the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State
University. It was held June 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill in
Washington, DC.
Members of NCA’s political communication division voted in 1999 to seek approval
for the conference, believing that Washington, DC during the ongoing 2000 presidential
campaign, would provide an ideal situation for a conference on political communication.
The centers at the University of Oklahoma and Iowa State University both endorsed the
conference with their financial and organizational support.
The conference was designed to fulfill three goals:
 | Goal 1: To examine the status of civic engagement in U.S. society.
Political communication scholars who are studying the need to reengage citizens in public
dialogue will present the results of applied research that creates avenues for citizen
involvement in political processes. |
| Goal 2: To look at various forms of campaign communication. This will
include analysis of media and campaign reporting, the role of new media in political
communication processes, and other areas of campaign discourse such as political debates
and political advertising. |
| Goal 3: To promote the engagement of communication scholars in this
line of inquiry. The conference will provide on-site opportunities for colleagues to apply
their knowledge and share their expertise with political and media practitioners and key
decision-makers. |
To fulfill these goals, the conference included keynote presentations, interactive
panel discussions, breakout sessions for collaborative work among conferees, and visits to
sites of relevance to the conference theme throughout Washington. Conference presenters
included noted scholars and media and campaign professionals. Events were also
scheduled that included participation by elected officials.
Members of the conference planning committee included: Dianne G. Bystrom, Iowa State
University; Diana B. Carlin, University of Kansas; Lynda Lee Kaid, University of Oklahoma;
Montague Kern, Rutgers University; Mitchell S. McKinney, University of Oklahoma; and
Michael W. Pfau, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Project officer for the conference from
the NCA National Office is Sherry Morreale, NCA Associate Director.
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