New Strategies for an Old Medium: The Weekly Radio Addresses of Reagan and Clinton

Authors

Lori Cox Han, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2006

Abstract

"While a rich literature exists on presidential communications (including the public/rhetorical presidency and the presidential/press relationship), only recently have presidential scholars begun to analyze weekly radio addresses as an important primary unit of analysis (Rowland and Jones 2002; Sigelman and Whissell 2002a, 2002b). This article analyzes how the use of radio has fit into the overall development of White House communication strategies during the television age, and takes an in-depth look at how Reagan and Clinton used weekly radio addresses to communicate with both the American public and the news media. Specifically, the issues considered here include the strategy development among White House communication advisors (why did the Reagan and Clinton administrations believe this was an important means of communication?), the policies emphasized in the weekly radio addresses (what did the president talk about?), and the frequency of news coverage concerning the weekly radio addresses (does consistent news coverage occur during the 24-hour news cycle following the address, and if so, in which media sources?)."

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Congress and the Presidency in 2006, available online at http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/07343460609507687.

Recommended Citation

Cox Han, Lori. 2006. “New Strategies for an Old Medium: The Weekly Radio Addresses of Reagan and Clinton.” Congress and the Presidency 33(1): 25-45.

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

Taylor & Francis