Drawing on the insights of a distinguished group of international scholars from a variety of disciplines, Soundbite Culture combines theory with case analysis to describe and account for the environment within which discourse has declined, and what has replaced it and why. The authors explore the implications of their premise by investigating various media, their methods, and their social, cultural and political implications. Topics include targeted direct mail campaigns, polling, infomercials, Internet identities, radio talk shows,and filmic depictions.