Kathleen Hall Jamieson And Paul Waldman Argue In The Press Effect That There Is An Evident Failure Of America's Press And Its Citizenry To Engage The Most Important Part Of Our Political Process In A Critical Fashion. The Authors Analyze Both Press Coverage And Public Opinion, Using The Annenberg 2000 Survey, Which Interviewed More Than 100,000 People, To Examine One Of The Most Interesting Periods Of Modern Presidential History, From The Summer Of 2000 Through The Aftermath Of September 11th. How Does The Press Fail Us During Presidential Elections? Jamieson And Waldman Show That When Political Campaigns Side-step Or Refuse To Engage The Facts Of The Opposing Side, The Press Often Fails To Step Into The Void With The Information Citizens Require To Make Sense Of The Political Give-and-take. The Authors Look At The Stories Through Which We Understand Political Events -- Examining A Number Of Fabrications That Have Deceived The Public About Consequential Governmental Activities -- And Explore The Ways In Which Political Leaders And Reporters Select The Language We Use To Talk And Think About Politics, And The Relationship Between The Rhetoric Of Campaigns And The Reality Of Governance. The Press Effect Is, Ultimately, A Wide-ranging Critique Of The Press's Role In Mediating Between Politicians And The Citizens They Are Supposed To Serve. Book Jacket.