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The 2010 General Election represented a pathbreaking contest in Political Communication. The TV debates changed forever the feel of the campaign. This book brings together key commentators, analysts and polling experts to present readers with a unique and valuable insight into the development of political communication in British Politics.

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Introduction; D.Wring PART I: DEBATES What Took So Long? The late arrival of TV election debates in the UK; R.Bailey The Election Debates from Sky News´ Perspective; A.Boulton & T. D. C. Roberts Media Coverage of the Prime Ministerial Debates; S.Coleman, F.Steibel & J.G.Blumler The polls, the media and voters: the leader debates; A.Hawkins & C.Laws PART II: POLLING Were they Wrong about the LibDems All Along?; S.Atkinson & R.Mortimore Polling Voting Intentions; P.Kellner, J.Twyman & A.Wells PART III: VOTERS The Campaign as Experienced by the Voters in the Battleground Seats; R.Mortimore, H.Cleary & T.Mludzinski Public Confidence in Elections; J.Watson PART IV: PARTIES The Conservative Campaign; A.Wilson The Labour Campaign; N.Cook The Liberal Democrat Campaign; Lord C.Rennard PART V: CAMPAIGNING This election will be won by people not posters´... Posters and the 2010 General Election; C.Burgess Constituency Campaigning in 2010; J.Fisher, D.Cutts & E.Fieldhouse Below the Radar? Online campaigning at the Local Level; R.Southern & S.Ward PART VI: MEDIA Playing by the Rules: the 2009 MPs Expenses Scandal; J.Hudson The Transformation of Campaign Reporting: the 2010 UK General Election, revolution or evolution?; I.Gaber Reporting the 2010 General Election: Old Media, New Media - Old Politics, New Politics; D.Deacon & D.Wring Genre and the mediation of election politics; K. Richardson, K. Parry & J. Corner Conclusion; R.Mortimore & S.Atkinson

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"This fascinating collection of essays provides a detailed, scholarly but always accessible analysis of the interplay between the media and politicians - when there is most at stake. Political Communication in Britain is the 2010 election laid bare´

- Michael Cockerell, Award-winning political broadcaster

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