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Communication 4473: Survey of Political Communication: Finding Information

Welcome to your course guide! Here you'll find links and tips that will help with your Comm 4473 research assignments this semester.

For your Political Communication Paper II: Campaign Messaging assignment, you will need to find and analyze:

  • stump speeches
  • advertisements
  • debates
  • optional additional campaign sources: direct mail, palm cards, print advertisements

News Databases

Open Web - Political Fact Checking & Voter Info

To find a somewhat comprehensive list of all public speeches, 1. enter your candidate's name then 2. click SPEECHES
*Use this browseable list as a starting point--always link out to the original source to cite!

FactCheck.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocate for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics by monitoring factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Use this site to cut through the spin and verify what is true and what is false..

The Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the organization aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more transparent and responsive government.

Reporters and researchers from PolitiFact and its partner news organization, the Tampa Bay Times, examine statements by members of Congress, state legislators, governors, mayors, the president, cabinet secretaries, lobbyists, people who testify before Congress and anyone else who speaks up in American politics. These statements are rated for accuracy and consistency, and a record is kept of whether campaign promises are kept, compromised, or broken.

An independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion.

Provides voters with comprehensive nonpartisan information about the contests on their ballot in an easy-to-use presentation. Provides a means for candidates to publish information about themselves and their candidacy directly to voters.

Open Web

*if it's CROWD-SOURCED INFORMATION - be sure to check/use the References & Citations!