ABSTRACT
The study of political communication is experiencing a surge of creativity and discovery, fueled by the revolution in media that has taken place over the past decade and a half. One sign of intellectual maturation in a scholarly field is the transition from the study of main effects to a deeper understanding of mechanisms of moderation and mediation. The changes in the political communication environment since the rise of the Internet in the mid-1990s are clearly far from over, and without question the study of political communication will continue to evolve rapidly while the media environment itself changes. As this happens, at least three major challenges are likely to confront researchers. These involve: the conceptualizing of digital media, especially the extent to which researchers focus on technology itself as opposed to the content of communication; the challenges and opportunities associated with 'Big Data;' and the need to revisit old problems of causation and linearity.
