Dr. John Geer – Author of In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns

Interviewer: Dr. Michael Nelson

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John G. Geer is the author of In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns (University of Chicago Press). He is currently Distinguished Professor and Chair of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. Geer earned his PhD from Princeton University (1986), securing his BA from Franklin and Marshall College (1980). Geer has published 5 books and over 20 articles on presidential politics and elections, and recently served as Editor of The Journal of Politics (2005-2009). He has provided extensive commentary in the news media on politics, including live nation wide interviews for FOX, CNN, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, ABC, and NPR. Geer has also written op-ed pieces for Politico, The Washington Post, LA Times, USA Today, and Chicago Tribune. Geer is currently working on a series of projects that looks at the news media’s coverage of attack advertising and how negativity may help voters make better choices.[i]

1 Biography of John Geer, Website of Vanderbilt University, http://www.vanderbilt.edu/political-science/bio/john-geer.