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Mitchell McKinney
Associate Professor
education: PhD, University of Kansas (1996)
email: McKinneyM@missouri.edu
office: 124 Switzler
phone: 573-882-9230
Comm 3100: http://web.missouri.edu/~mckinneym/comm3100/

Dr. Mitchell McKinney teaches courses in political communication, and rhetorical theory and criticism. His research interests include presidential debates, political campaigns, media and politics, and presidential rhetoric. McKinney is the co-author/editor of 4 books, including The 1992 Presidential Debates in Focus (with Diana B. Carlin), Civic Dialogue in the 1996 Presidential Campaign (with Lynda Lee Kaid & John C. Tedesco), and two edited volumes of political communication studies, including The Millennium Election: Communication in the 2000 Campaign , and Communicating Politics: Engaging the Public in Democratic Life . His research appears in major communication, journalism, and political science journals, including Journal of Communication, Communication Monographs, Communication Studies, Journalism Studies, and American Behavioral Scientist .

McKinney has combined practical political experience with his training as a political communication scholar, having served as a staff member in the U.S. Senate and at the White House. He has served as a consultant to C-SPAN and also the national Commission on Presidential Debates, advising the Commission on how debates might be structured in order to better educate voters. Most recently, Dr. McKinney served as an adviser for the Korean government as officials planned their 2002 televised presidential debates. Dr. McKinney has provided expert political commentary for such national media as the New York Times, USA Today, The National Journal and NPR.

In 2002, McKinney was selected as one of five teacher-scholars to facilitate the National Communication Association's Hope Institute for Faculty Development. He was the founding Chair of the Central States Communication Association's Political Communication Division, and also served as Chair of the National Communication Association's Political Communication Division.

Frequently Taught Courses
Com 9620 Political Campaign Debates
Com 9280 Seminar in Communication Theory
Com 8610 Survey of Political Communication
Com 8160 Rhetorical Criticism
Com 8110 Introduction to Graduate Study in Communication
Com 4473 Political Communication
Com 3572 Argument and Advocacy
Com 3100 Controversies in Communication

Research Interests
Presidential debates
Political campaigns
Media and politics
Presidential rhetoric
Civic engagement

Selected Recent Publications
McKinney , M. S., & Chattopadhyay, S. (in press). Political engagement through debates: Young citizens' reactions to the 2004 presidential debates. American Behavioral Scientist.

McKinney , M. S., Kaid, L. L., Bystrom, D. G., & Carlin, D. B. (Eds.). (2005). Communicating politics: Engaging the public in democratic life . New York : Peter Lang Publishers.

McKinney , M.S., & Bawnart, M. C. (2005). Rocking the youth vote through debate: Examining the effects of a targeted debate message on the intended audience. Journalism Studies, 6, 153-163.

Banwart, M. C., & McKinney , M. S. (2005). A gendered influence in campaign debates? Analysis of mixed-gender United States senate and gubernatorial debates. Communication Studies, 56, 353-373.

McKinney , M. S. (2005). Let the people speak: The public's agenda and presidential town hall debates. American Behavioral Scientist, 49, 1-15.

Mitchell McKinney