Thomas Patterson

Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press
Shorenstein Center
Office Address
Taubman-276
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 113
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-9926
Fax: 617-495-8696
Email: thomas_patterson@Harvard.Edu
Thomas Patterson

Profile

Thomas E. Patterson is Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press. His most recent book, The Vanishing Voter, looks at the causes and consequences of declining electoral participation. His book on the medias political role, Out of Order, received the American Political Science Associations Graber Award as the best book of the decade in political communication. An earlier book, The Unseeing Eye, was named by the American Association for Public Opinion Research as one of the 50 most influential books on public opinion in the past half century. He also is author of Mass Media Election and two general American government texts: The American Democracy and We the People. His articles have appeared in Political Communication, Journal of Communication, and other academic journals, as well as in the popular press. His research has been funded by the Ford, Markle, Smith-Richardson, Pew, Knight, Carnegie, and National Science foundations. Patterson received his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1971.

 

Courses

Spring

  • PAL-110 Political Institutions and Public Policy: American Politics

Year

  • PAL-150Y Seminar: Politics and Advocacy
  • PPP-150Y Seminar: Press, Politics, and Public Policy

Media Expertise

Thomas Patterson welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

Research for a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journals
    • Patterson, Thomas E. "Just Another Forum?" Harvard International Review 30.2 (Summer 2008): 6-7.
    • Patterson, Thomas E. "The Decline of Newspapers: The Local Story." Nieman Reports 61.4 (Winter 2007): 33-34.
  • Book Chapters
    • Patterson, Thomas E. "Political Roles of the Journalist." The Politics of News: The News of Politics, 2nd Edition. Ed. Doris A. Graber, Denis McQuail, and Pippa Norris. CQ Press, 2007, 23-39.
  • Books
    • Patterson, Thomas E. We the People, 7th Edition. McGraw Hill, 2007.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Patterson, Thomas E. "Creative Destruction: An Exploratory Look at News on the Internet." Carnegie/Knight Task Force Report on the Future of Journalism Education, Shorenstein Center, Kennedy School of Government, August 2007.
    • Patterson, Thomas E. "Young People and News." Carnegie/Knight Task Force Report on the Future of Journalism Education, Shorenstein Center, Kennedy School of Government, July 2007.
    • Patterson, Thomas E. "The Internet and the Threat it Poses to Local Media: Lessons from News in the Schools." Carnegie/Knight Task Force Report on the Future of Journalism Education, Shorenstein Center, Kennedy School of Government, January 2007.
    • Patterson, Thomas E. "Mandatory Testing and News in the Schools." Carnegie/Knight Task Force Report on the Future of Journalism Education, Shorenstein Center, Kennedy School of Government, January 2007.
  • Reviews
    • Patterson, Thomas E. Review of Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media & Politics, by Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini Political Communication, 24.3 July 2007: 329-331.