Communicating Images of Congressional Policymaking to Constituents: An Examination of Congressional Mass Mailings

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This project will provide a systematic analysis of the policy-relevant messages that Members of Congress send to their constituents in mass mailings. Two methods will be utilized. First, a content analysis will be conducted on all mass mailings sent from 1991 to 1996 by a random sample of Members of Congress. This will yield information on the content and variance of messages contained in the mailings. Second, press secretaries and other congressional staff, will be interviewed in regard to the strategies that shape the content of mass mailings. This examination of mass mailings will add to our knowledge on congressional communication in two ways. First, it will provide a unique database on messages contained in mass mailings and the ways that representatives use this communication vehicle to attain their goals. Second, the project will show which factors are significant in explaining the variance among Members of Congress in their portrayals of government policymaking.