Political Communication & Public Opinion

Political communication concerns the creation, dissemination, processing and effects of communication within the political system. These dynamics play out domestically and internationally, and are often analyzed at both the micro and macro levels.

Topics commonly studied in the OSU School of Communication include:

  • Individual and societal-level media effects across a variety of media (e.g., news and entertainment)
  • The content, process and effects of interpersonal political discussion
  • Changes in political processes associated with new media and the rise of social networks
  • Psychological mechanisms guiding use of political media
  • Communicative processes in the formation of political opinion and political knowledge
  • Comparative political communication across political and cross-national contexts
  • Political decision making and cognitive neuroscience
  • And much more

Faculty and students in this area have won numerous awards for their research, and the program has an exceptional record of research productivity. For example, in 2023 Communication Studies identified two recent OSU Ph.D. graduates in the area of political communication (Dr. Hyunjin Song and Dr. David Clementson) as among the 25 most productive scholars publishing in communication journals.

Faculty who typically work with students in this area include: