Erika Fowler

Erika Franklin Fowler is Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project. After finishing her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007, she spent two years as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan. Her research focusing on local media and advertising has appeared in the Journal of Communication, Political Communication, International Journal of Press/Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Health Affairs and The American Journal of Managed Care. Fowler also serves on the ABC News Election Night Decision Desk and frequently gives talks to health and election journalists about how to improve their reporting.Michael M. Franz is associate professor of government and legal studies at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005. His research interests include campaign finance, political advertising, and interest groups. He is author or co-author of four books, including The Persuasive Power of Campaign Advertising (Temple, 2011) and Choices and Changes: Interest Groups in the Electoral Process (Temple, 2008). He has published articles in such journals as Journal of Politics, American Journal of Political Science, American Politics Research, and Political Communication. Since 2010, he has been co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project.Travis N. Ridout is Thomas S. Foley Distinguished Professor of Government and Public Policy and Associate Professor in the School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at Washington State University. He is also co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project and serves as chair-elect of the Political Communication section of the American Political Science Association. Ridout received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003, and his research on political campaigns and political advertising has appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Communication, Political behaviour, Political Psychology, Annual Review of Political Science, and in several book chapters. Ridout's most recent book, The Persuasive Power of Campaign Advertising, was published in 2011 with Temple University Press. - -Erika Franklin Fowler is Assistant Professor of government at Wesleyan University.Michael M. Franz is Associate Professor of government and legal studies at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Travis N. Ridout is Thomas S. Foley Distinguished Professor of Government and Public Policy and Associate Professor in the School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at Washington State University.