Welcome to the Winter, 2005 Issue

As we were planning this issue back in early September, it dawned on us that it would be nearly seven months after the 2004 U.S. general election before either of our sponsoring organizations held a professional meeting where scholars could discuss their findings from the campaign. It seemed like a long time to wait, so we decided to ask some researchers if they would be willing to give us an early peek at their analyses of the 2004 election. Most were happy to share.

In this issue’s commentary, Scott Althaus discusses the debate over how to calculate voter turnout and the ways various measures affect our perception of democratic participation. Our roundtable features highlights from the National Annenberg Election Survey, an overview of Michael Pfau’s research on the impact of various communication channels on voters’ perceptions of the candidates and of the American democratic system, and a thoughtful essay from David Ryfe about the possibilities for deliberative citizenship. Our featured resource is data from a national sample, three-wave panel study sponsored by the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy.

We were saddened to learn of Dan Nimmo’s death in September. David Swanson contributed a remembrance of Nimmo’s life and work that appears in this issue. Then, in a darkly ironic turn, Swanson himself passed away two months later. This issue contains a memorial page for David Swanson.

The minutes of the APSA Political Communication Division business meeting include the officers and awards committee members for 2004-2005 and news about the 2005 meeting's pre-conference.

This issue’s list of books includes some of the first about the Iraq war. Calls for papers include calls for the 2005 NCA and AEJMC meetings, and the upcoming meetings include a number of regional meetings in political science.

Best wishes for the new year.

Jill Edy