| Table des matières |
| 1. | The Media and Representative Government: The Necessary Evil? | 1 |
| | The Democratic Conversation | 2 |
| | What the Public Needs and Wants to Know About Congress | 4 |
| | What Congress Needs from the Media | 8 |
| | So What Is News on the Congressional Beat? | 12 |
| | The Institution We Love to Hate | 17 |
| | The Tone of Congressional Coverage | 19 |
| | The Contemporary Congressional and Media Environment | 25 |
| 2. | The Love/Hate Relationship: The Media Approach Congress | 35 |
| | Who Gets Seats in the Gallery? | 36 |
| | The Challenges of the Congressional Storyline | 38 |
| | Journalists are from Mars and Members of Congress are from | |
| | Venus: The Role of the Journalist | 42 |
| | Charges of Media Bias? | 44 |
| | The Decline of the "Buddy" System | 46 |
| | The Terrain of Battle: Emerging Areas of Attack | 48 |
| | Running with the Pack | 50 |
| | The Mutual Disapproval Society | 52 |
| | Catch Me If You Can: The (More) Open Congress | 53 |
| 3. | The Congressional P.R. Machine: Selling a Single Product | 59 |
| | The Care and Feeding of Relevant Audiences | 60 |
| | Proven General Media Strategies | 71 |
| | Media Coverage from the Congressional Perspective | 77 |
| 4. | Catch Me If You Can: News Hooks and Nobodies | 80 |
| | Competing Voices from the Outside: The President and Congress | 80 |
| | The Personality News Hook | 83 |
| | Committee Leaders | 83 |
| | The Nature and Potential for Party Voices | 85 |
| | New Leaders for a New Era | 86 |
| | The Challenge of Coordinated Messaging | 92 |
| | Unheard and Misheard Voices | 96 |
| | The Bottom Line | 97 |
| 5. | From Props to First Responders: Congress and the State of the Union Message | 101 |
| | A Televised Happening | 103 |
| | Refining the Rhetoric | 106 |
| | The Official Congressional Rebuttal | 110 |
| | Being "Used" | 111 |
| 6. | Mr. Chair and My Loyal Fans: Celebrity Testimony on Capitol Hill | 114 |
| | The Early Years of Celebrities on the Hill | 115 |
| | The Nature of Celebrity | 115 |
| | The Contemporary Search for Legitimate Spokespersons | 116 |
| | Passing the "Laugh Test" | 117 |
| | The Celebrity Mediated World | 119 |
| | Who Wins? | 120 |
| | Push Back | 121 |
| | Who Cares? | 121 |
| 7. | Bombasters and Buffoons: Making Congress an Easy Target | 124 |
| | The Draw of Personal Failure | 125 |
| | Implications of Focusing on the Negative | 132 |
| 8. | Congress, the Houses of Ill Repute: Cartoonists Take on the House and Senate | 134 |
| | Comic Strips | 135 |
| | Editorial Cartoons | 136 |
| | Ready, Aim, Fire | 137 |
| | The Impact of Cartoons | 148 |
| 9. | Congress and Popular Culture: Dissing Congress on a Grand Scale | 151 |
| | Legacy Comedians | 151 |
| | Congress Goes to the Movies | 152 |
| | Congress on Television: Channeling Discontent | 154 |
| | What? Me Worry? | 158 |
| 10. | C-SPAN: A Window on Congress | 160 |
| | Open House: The Marriage Broker | 161 |
| | The Legacy Media Take a Stand and Force a Choice | 162 |
| | Where is the Audience? | 164 |
| 11. | Congress and the New Media: Challenges and Opportunities | 172 |
| | Purported Advantages of New Media for Congress and its Members | 172 |
| | Potential Public and Media Gains from New Media | 174 |
| | The Potential Dark Side of New Media | 177 |
| | The Challenge of Social Media to the Traditional Media | 177 |
| | The Challenges of Social Media for Congress and the Public | 178 |
| | Congressional Adoption Patterns of New Media | 183 |
| | Regulating the New Media | 193 |
| | The Impact of the New Media | 194 |
| 12. | Congress and the Media: The Continuing Odyssey | 198 |
| | A Reminder of the Goals | 198 |
| | A Challenge to Researchers | 199 |
| | Some Characteristics of Contemporary Coverage | 200 |
| | Some Parting Words to the Players | 201 |
| | Future Cast | 205 |
| | Index | 208 |
