An analysis of the 1996 National Issues Convention, from logistics of execution to the role of news media. Examines the significance the event has in the context of civic discourse & public debate. For scholars & researchers in poli comm & poli sci. "By assembling this broad, stimulating collection--including studies of how delegates were recruited and how public journalism advocates covered the NIC and the early presidential campaign--McCombs and Reynolds have provided us with the most thorough examination to date of a remarkable event."—Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly