What are dog whistles? Here's some initial context:

Intro: What are political dogwhistles?
Dog whistles, defined by Vox, are, "a phrase that may sound innocuous to some people, but which also communicates something more insidious either to a subset of the audience or outside of the audience’s conscious awareness — a covert appeal to some noxious set of views." An important aspect of a successful dog whistle is its ability to only appeal to its target audience: if a dog whistle can be heard by all, is it not just a regular whistle?

Relevance to campaign politics:
Politicians often use dog whistles (sometimes probably on accident!) to send messages to portions of their base. Certain statements could seem completely regular to some, while pricking the ears of others. Use of specific terms may not seem out of the ordinary, but for specific groups who may be concerned about a particular issue, public officials are able to "nod" to them without blatantly stating their opinion on an issue. For example, George W. Bush used specific terms and words during his presidential campaign that were evangelical dogwhistles, as one of Bush's White House staffers David Kuo admitted.

Are there other contexts where dog whistles are relevant?
Dog whistles are not solely relevant to politics, though this is one of the arenas where they are probably most masterfully used. However, the idea of covertly communicating an idea to a target audience without alerting or alienating others around you is, realistically, something that probably happens in every day life. I do this all the time with my dad at family gatherings; I make small jokes or comments I know only he will understand, because it creates a kinship while not alienating members of our family whom we may be talking about or referencing. To me, political dog whistles within the sphere of mass media is like politicians and news outlets drawing a curved line in the dirt for the public en masse. (See: the legend behind the Christian fish). Those who understand the dog whistle figuratively draw a line back; those who don't theoretically think nothing of it.

An academic example of an effective political dogwhistle:
As previously mentioned, George W. Bush's staffers have openly admitted to using political dogwhistles targeted at evangelicals. In a 2014 study, political psychologist Bethany Albertson examined the public perception of religious messaging in campaign materials. Albertson used the term "wonder-working power" in fake campaign messsaging, which is a term found in an Evangelical hymn that is almost only entirely known within the Evangelical community. This research found that "wonder-working power" was much better received than overt religious messaging by non-religious members of the study. While the term successfully did not alienate non-religious study subjects, it did appeal to religious subjects: it was deemed a more successful dog whistle, because it enabled the [false] campaign materials to appeal to a wider audience.

Moving forward:
Moving forward, this blog will examine how covert political messaging in media and American politics intersect. I will examine specific political events, how these events were portrayed in the media, and how this portrayal could have (or did) successfully employ covert messaging (dog whistles) to appeal to specific parts of a politican's or party's support base. I will also attempt to show a clear comparison of how this messaging can be differently perceived by their "ingroup," or members of the target audience, vs. "outgroup", those who the coverage are simply trying to not alienate.