Political Communications Infrastructure

Major American corporate and political forces are currently battling for control of a new digital communications network that marks the convergence of what were until recently separate industries of publishing, broadcasting, telecommunications, and computers. So far the debate over the National Information Infrastructure has been dominated by questions of who gains and who loses economically. This article attempts to redirect attention to the issue of political communication—how technical developments in mass and interpersonal communications may influence how citizens learn about the political world around them, how political support is mobilized for issues and candidates, and how citizens signal preferences to their representatives.