Welcome Note
Frank Esser and Sharon Jarvis, the Chairs of ICA’s and APSA’s Political Communication Divisions
After a hiatus of several years, we are delighted to present the new edition of the Political Communication Report. It is a joint product of the Political Communication Divisions of ICA and APSA and exemplifies how we work together in partnership. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Curd Knüpfer. He is the Social Media Editor for both of our Divisions and without his tireless efforts, we would not have had this successful revival of the Political Communication Report. He has reached out to previous Editors (especially Eike Rinke), discussed ideas with the Joint Publication Committee (chaired by Patrica Moy), and sought input from us two in our roles as Chairs of ICA’s and APSA’s PolComm divisions.
We have the impression that, on the one hand, the momentum of our existing social media channels is quite fragile. On the other hand, we want to continue important debates and emerging issues with our members between the annual conferences. With this in mind, the Political Communication Report has a potentially great role to play. It gives us as Division Chairs the opportunity to stay in touch with you and keep the energy and dialogue up throughout the year. But the PCR also gives you a low-threshold opportunity to get involved. We want to encourage members at the beginning, middle, or end of their careers to express their ideas in this new outlet. Above all, those who may have difficulty making their voices heard in other organs of our field should find here a legitimate venue for their contributions.
The concept for the newly designed Political Communication Report is still in a state of flux and Curd will certainly be very pleased to receive stimulating input from you to further develop it. The success of the PCR will depend on the commitment of all of us. We are convinced that it will strengthen both the community spirit and the information level among all those engaged in Political Communication.