Media Relations and the Modern First Lady: From Jacqueline Kennedy to Melania Trump examines the communication strategies first ladies and their teams have used to manage press and public interest in their private lives, to promote causes close to their hearts, and to shape their public image. Starting with Jacqueline Kennedy, who was the first to have a staffer with the title "press secretary," each chapter explores the relationship between a first lady and the media, the role played by her press secretary and communication staff in cultivating this relationship, and the first lady's media coverage. Contributors exploring the following questions: How effective were the media relations and communication strategies of this first lady and her team? What worked and what did not? Was the first lady a communication asset to her husband's administration? And what can we learn from their media relations strategies? Along with contributing to the scholarship on presidential spouses, the contributions to this volume also highlight the important role media relations plays in strategic political communication. Scholars of communication, media studies, gender and women's studies, political science, and public relations will find this book particularly useful.
Introduction: Why Do First Lady Media Relations Matter? Lisa M. Burns Chapter 1: History of First Lady Media Relations from Martha Washington to Mamie Eisenhower Maurine H. Beasley Chapter 2: Jacqueline Kennedy and the Challenge of Establishing Modern First Lady Media Relations Elizabeth J. Natalle Chapter 3: Lady Bird Johnson and the Press: "She Understood the Language of the Trade" Nancy Keegan Smith and Diana Bartelli Carlin Chapter 4: Strength of a Tender Heart: Pat Nixon's Media Relations Linda B. Hobgood Chapter 5: "For all the questions you didn't ask-I'm grateful": The Media Relations of Betty Ford Myra G. Gutin Chapter 6: Rosalynn Carter, Mary Finch Hoyt, and the Media: The Rise of the Steel Magnolia Pamela G. Bourland-Davis, Jenni M. Simon, and Abby M. Brooks Chapter 7: The Boss's Wife: Exploring Nancy Reagan's Complicated Role as Homemaker, Protector, and Advocate Joshua M. Bentley and Russell Mack Chapter 8: First Lady Barbara Bush and Press Secretary Anna Perez: Lessons from an Effective Media Relations Partnership Molly Wertheimer Chapter 9: Soldiering On: Lisa Caputo, Marsha Berry, and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's Media Relations Anne F. Mattina Chapter 10: Speaking From the "Velvet Pulpit": The Media Relations of Laura Bush Erika Cornelius Smith Chapter 11: Michelle Obama and the Effective Use of Strategic Communication: The Art of Mastering Messaging across Multiple Media Platforms Shaniece B. Bickham Chapter 12: Melania Trump's Bullied Pulpit: Media Relations for an Embattled First Lady Tammy R. Vigil Conclusion: The Dynamic Nature of First Lady Media Relations Alison Novak
