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. This is occurring now in several areas of political communication, especially in the study of selective exposure, framing, and political participation (e.g., Chong & Druckman, 2007; Prior, 2007; Slothuus, 2008; Stroud, 2010, 2011; Xenos & Moy, 2007). Another sign of advance is the injection of new concepts, which is happening in political communication through the study of power law distributions, egocentric publics, contagion models of behavior, and many other ideas (e.g., Centola & Macy, 2007; Hindman, 2008; Wojcieszak, 2012). Yet another sign is the presence of debate over the applicability of venerable theories to current conditions (e.g., Bennett & Iyengar, 2008; Holbert, Garrett, & Gleason, 2010). By these measures, the field of political communication is vibrant.
