ABSTRACT
The president clinton revealed his underwear preferences, both to the seventeen-year-old questioner and to anyone in the country who happened to be watching. In one version of the new media, political leaders like President Clinton face the public directly, without benefit of reporters; this type of arrangement produced the underwear discussion. The mistrusting attitudes follow from media messages that emphasize the failure of politicians to respond to public needs. Television and newspaper reporters, whose trustworthiness is assumed to be critical to their credibility, are perceived to have only average ethical standards compared with other professions, such as clerics, medical doctors, professors, and police officers. It should be apparent from this brief overview that politics and governance concern a number of groups with a stake in the political system. The discussion of the 1992 New Hampshire primary mentioned the public, political parties, candidates and their advisers, and the media. This chapter also provides the overview of the subsequent chapters.
