The Civic Culture and Contentious Politics (CCCP) was awarded a total of $272,000 in additional grants for their research on “Communication Ecologies, Political Contention, and the Crisis of Democracy” from the Hewlett Foundation, Journal Foundation, and the Thompson Center. This is in addition to the $411,300 the team received from the UW2020 competition. The additional grants will allow the research group to extend its work into the 2020 presidential election cycle. Specifically, they will continue examining how polarization and fragmentation in the Wisconsin media ecology, as reflected in talk radio, local news, political advertising, and social media, contributed to the ideological and partisan polarization of Wisconsin citizens. UW SJMC professors Lew Friedland, Dhavan Shah, and Mike Wagner, are collaborating with UW colleagues Kathy Cramer in political science, Karl Rohe in statistics and Bill Sethares in electrical and computer engineering, as well as Chris Wells of Boston University, on this multi-investigator project. The grants are detailed below:
- Hewlett Foundation in support of “Communication Ecologies, Political Contention, and the Crisis of Democracy,” Katherine Cramer (PI), Lewis Friedland, Karl Rohe, William Sethares, Dhavan Shah, Michael Wagner and Chris Wells, $100,000 w/ $50,000 match – 9/1/2018 – 8/30/2020.
- Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership in support of “Leadership, Communication Ecologies, Political Contention and Democratic Renewal Across Four Issues in Wisconsin” Michael Wagner (PI), Katherine Cramer, Lewis Friedland, Karl Rohe, William Sethares, Dhavan Shah, and Chris Wells —$72,000 — 11/1/2018 – 10/31/2019.
- The Damm Fund of the Journal Foundation in support of “Communication Ecologies, Political Contention, and the Crisis of Democracy,” Dhavan Shah (PI), Katherine Cramer, Lewis Friedland, Karl Rohe, William Sethares, Michael Wagner and Chris Wells, $50,000 – 12/1/2018 – 11/30/2021.