A functional analysis of presidential television spots: A comparison of Korean and American ads

This study applies the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse to the television spots from the 2002 Korean presidential campaign. TV ads appear to have become an institutionalized component of the Korean presidential campaign; as yet no study has examined the most recent Korean presidential ads. Like American candidates, Korean presidential candidates rely more on acclaims (positive utterances) than attacks (negative statements). They also rarely defend in spots. The incumbent party candidate, Roh, offered more acclaims than the challenger Lee, whereas the challenger Lee used more attacks than did Roh. However, unlike American candidates (who emphasized policy over character), policy (issue) and character (image) were almost equally discussed in Korean advertisements. Unlike American presidential candidates, the winner in Korea in 2002 emphasized character more than policy. It is clear that presidential campaign messages from these two cultures possess both similarities and differences.     

Questionnaire on debating

A pilot study of the effects of communication in the 1972 presidential campaign illustrates the utility of the survey research method as an adjunct to the conventional tools of the critic‐analyst of campaign persuasion. Findings describe the bases on which voters evaluated the campaign and responded to sources of political information and influence.     

A multidimensional analysis of the 1976 presidential campaign

This article examines the 1976 presidential election campaign through the use of metric multidimensional scaling. Attitudes of a 20‐subject panel were measured weekly for a period of 12 weeks. A series of direct pair comparisons were made among the issues, political parties, candidates, candidate attributes, and the self. Results indicate that (1) voters' attitudes toward the candidates, issues and parties stabilized after the election, (2) the first two debates were the most important events of the campaign, and (3) their greatest effects were felt with a lag of between one and two weeks after the events.     

Issue Ownership for Non-Presidential Television Spots

Petrocik's (1996) theory of political party issue ownership predicts that candidates will emphasize the issues on which their own party is considered most effective. This prediction has been confirmed in presidential campaign messages, but it has yet to be tested with non-presidential campaign discourse. Computer content analysis of over 1100 political television spots from 1980 to 2002 (most spots were from 2002) discovered that overall, Democratic candidates discussed their own party's issues more than did Republicans, whereas Republicans discussed Republican issues more than did Democratic candidates. However, local ads and US Senate spots from 2002 did not follow issue ownership predictions (candidates did not discuss their own party's issues significantly more than the other party's issues). Unlike presidential spots, non-presidential advertising discusses Democratic issues more than Republican ones; the Republican Party owns more national or federal issues such as national defense and foreign policy.     

Women's issues,women's place: Gender‐related problems in presidential campaigns

This essay is a feminist rhetorical analysis of recurring gender‐related problems in presidential campaigns, focusing particularly on the 1992 campaign. I examine 39 speeches from the Democratic and Republican National Conventions (1972–1992) for discussion of women's issues, women's roles, and men's roles, and conclude that the anti‐feminist “backlash”; of the 1980s has taken a serious toll on public attention to women's issues. When politicians spoke of women's concerns, they largely ignored actual issues, and instead focused their attention on women's roles in society. Men's roles were also a central focus, as each presidential candidate sought to convince the voting public to cast him as the Leading Man.     

Issue Ownership in Congressional Campaign Television Spots

This study investigated issue ownership patterns in 602 U.S. House and Senate Democratic and Republican political campaign television advertisements from 1980–2000. First, the themes in these ads were about equally split between policy and character (unlike presidential TV spots from the same time period, which are roughly two-thirds policy and one-third character). Candidates from each political party addressed their own party's issues more than issues owned by the other party. However, unlike presidential spots, congressional ads discussed Democratic issues more than Republican issues (59% to 41%). Although candidates from both political parties discussed their own issues more, winners tended to discuss issues from the other party more than losers. There was no difference in issue ownership emphasis between the House and Senate ads in this sample.     

奥巴马2008年总统竞选中的网络公关探析

奥巴马2008年总统竞选中网络公关的成功实践表明：网络公关有助于竞选者形象的塑造,可以更有效地宣传竞选者的政策主张,进一步加强竞选者与选民的联系。奥巴马总统竞选中网络公关的成功,首先是对网络公关进行了周密设计,其次在网络公关活动中注意综合运用各种网络公关的方法手段,把各种网络公关的方法手段结合起来,从而形成一整套的网络公关方略活动。奥巴马网络公关的成功经验值得学习借鉴。     

美国黑人参政的历史演变——从《汤姆叔叔的小屋》到奥巴马胜选

黑人为什么能够赢得美国2008年总统大选？对此众说纷纭、莫哀一是。实际上,奥巴马的胜选建立于美国黑人200余年争取民权不懈斗争的历史基础之上,再加之奥巴马团队针对美国国内现时政治、经济实际采取了恰当的竞选策略,终于实现了一个伟大的“梦想”。     

政治传播与修辞说服——2000年美国总统大选辩论剖析

电视公开辩论已经成为美国政治传播中的一种重要手段，它们通过精心设计的话语来实现其说服性功能。亚里斯多德把修辞划分为三类，其中就包括以说服为核心的商讨辩论的修辞。通过分析作为实证案例的2000年美国大选中戈尔与小布什的三场电视公开辩论，我们具体探讨两位修选人如何通过情绪法来进行说服，从而达到政治传播的目的，并重点分析了三组对立的情绪及其作为修辞说服手段在政治传播中的应用。     

Presidential debate questions and the public agenda

Presidential debates have become an institutionalized component of presidential campaigns. Debates have been shown to create learning in voters and are capable of influencing vote choices. Although candidates have some control over their utterances, questions, usually asked by journalists, have a strong influence on the topics candidates can address. It is fashionable to criticize the questions posed by journalists in these “joint press conferences.” This study adds a new twist to media agenda‐setting, providing empirical evidence on the question of whether voters’ issue interests influence the topics of journalists’ questions. Results show that the questions asked by journalists in debates do not reflect the public interest. We recommend that future debates eschew the use of journalists as sources of questions for presidential debates.     

三方的游戏——1988年美国民主党预选中的“赛马式”报道

自20世纪40年代以来,美国总统选举提名阶段的改革大大增强了媒体在竞选中的影响力,吸引了国外学界对新闻报道,尤其是"赛马式"报道的广泛关注和深思。通过分析《纽约时报》关于1988年民主党预选的91篇新闻报道,一方面指出该领域研究重视探究报道模式、揭示其对竞选结果的不利影响;另一方面也指出其忽视或过分简单化其形成原因的缺陷。从竞选者的自我表达方式﹑媒体的特质以及竞选活动特点三方面的相互促进与制约来阐释"赛马式"报道的形成机制。     

[minus]plastic: influencing pro‐environmental attitudes among Singaporean youth

Plastics have much to offer as a modern convenience, but lack of responsible plastic waste management habits can lead to potentially harmful environmental effects. Past environmental initiatives revealed a lack of understanding about youth attitudes towards pro‐environmental issues. [minus]plastic, an online public environmental promotional campaign, encouraged Singaporean youth to recognize the importance of, adopt positive attitudes towards and subsequently adopt the practice of responsible plastic management. We propose the Temporal Incentives Model of Social Influence, based on Prochaska and DiClemente's stages of change model, to guide social campaign design. A pre‐post quantitative research design showed that the pre‐contemplation, contemplation and preparation stages progressed significantly after the campaign. The findings suggest that stimuli incorporating specialized information and small action steps allow migration to successive stages. With the strong presence of internet culture among Singaporean youth, the online medium was found effective in altering the attitudes of the campaign target audience, while exposure to the campaign messages proved useful in encouraging environmental learning among youth.     

The speech of the moment

Slogans, as a rhetorical device, have a rich history. They have provided historians with topical outlines of the major concerns, frustrations, and hopes of society. As “social symbols” they have united, divided, and even converted. In so doing, slogans have become a direct link to social or individual action. Yet, little attention has been given to the rhetorical and persuasive nature of slogans. Today, as we prepare ourselves for another presidential campaign, posters, television, and radio ads proclaim the various slogans of the candidates. Each candidate hopes to tap a reservoir of support by striking a familiar theme, issue, or image. The purpose of this paper is to identify the functions and characteristics of slogans as they are used in movements and campaigns.     

A Summative Evaluation of a Food Safety Social Marketing Campaign “4‐Day Throw‐Away” Using Traditional and Social Media

Foodborne illnesses remain a common problem in the United States. Focus group results indicated that lack of knowledge and improper handling of leftovers were common among food preparers in families with young children. The USDA‐recommended storage time for leftovers was used to develop and conduct a food safety social marketing campaign, 4 Day Throw Away using both traditional and social media. A procedural model for developing a theory‐based nutrition education intervention and the Health Belief Model were used to design, implement, and evaluate this campaign. The #4 mascot made numerous public appearances (in person and TV) to convey the 4 Day Throw Away message; 10000 magnets were distributed; and 500 posters with tear‐off note card were posted in the traditional campaign. Magnets and note card directed recipients to a website (4984 visits) with food safety information about leftovers. The social media campaign included 4 YouTube videos (11759 views); a Facebook page (166 users with over 21240 post views); and 51 followers on Twitter. The use of multiple media channels increased awareness and intention to change health behaviors especially among parents of children 10 and younger. Both traditional and social media methods in the 4 Day Throw Away campaign reached the intended audience suggesting that interventions using a mix of media channels broaden the reach and potential for intended behavior change.     

教育政策与美国总统政治

随着教育重要性的日益凸显,总统政治和教育的联系日趋密切。20世纪60年代中期以来,美国教育政策逐渐成为总统政治的核心,直接影响到总统竞选的成功与否以及执政过程中的民意向背。为此,两党候选人纷纷在竞选中将自己标榜为“教育总统”,积极构思一系列教育政策,以此谋求民众的支持。本文首先对20世纪60年代中期以来美国总统政治中的教育问题进行了系统梳理,随后对总统政治与教育之间的关系进行了总结。     

Barack Obama,the Exodus Tradition,and the Joshua Generation

This essay explores Barack Obama's invocation of the Exodus during his 2008 presidential campaign. It argues Obama's turn to Exodus, his rare embodiment of Joshua, and his renewal of the American covenant nicely addressed major rhetorical problems that he faced. Of equal importance, his campaign oratory opens an important line of inquiry into the relationship between social order and critique in this idiom. Obama's discourse induces us to examine anew the possibilities for social and political change suggested by the Exodus.     

Engaging election contention: Understanding why presidents engage with contentious issues

In recent years, technology has made it possible, and in some ways critical, for college and university presidents to increase campus‐wide communication. Following the 2016 US presidential election, many college presidents across the country sent campus‐wide communications in response to the election, while others chose not to respond. The resulting reactions from campus and community stakeholders to these communications, or the lack of communication, from presidents was mixed due to the contentious nature of the election. In an effort to better understand a president’s decision to communicate, this study utilised coded interviews with 12 US flagship institution presidents or vice‐presidents for communication, providing insight into why presidents generally respond to contentious events and, more specifically, why presidents chose to respond to the 2016 election of Donald Trump. Four motivations that generally influenced presidential communications were identified (i.e., responsibility to campus stakeholders, pressure to respond, emphasise university values and the role of a public university), and subsequent sub‐themes were identified while analysing why presidents responded to the 2016 election specifically. This study concludes by offering implications for presidential communication and directions for future research on presidential engagement with contentious events.     

Encouraging Identification with the Larger Campaign Narrative: Grassroots Organizing Texts in Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Campaign

Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign motivated thousands of people to train, organize, and recruit volunteers to get involved at the grassroots level. In this essay, I study a set of training manuals used during the 2008 Obama campaign and explore how four key rhetorical devices encouraged volunteers to identify strongly with the campaign. Using Kenneth Burke’s theory of identification, I analyze how (a) “Respect. Empower. Include.,” (b) the Story of Self, (c) volunteer recruitment and retention, and (d) the Obama “O” symbol fostered a sense of mission and commitment to the larger campaign narrative.     

A Q-Sort measure of beliefs about abortion

Debate over the availability and use of induced abortion continues in the US. The author introduces a Q-sort procedure for assessing beliefs about abortion and presents results from its application. The measure permits the assessment of reactions to a fuller list of beliefs than has been employed in many previous studies, while being person-centered instead of more variable-centered with regard to the analyses of reactions to the abortion issue. 119 university respondents of mean age 19.6 years in a range of 18-46 years from an introductory psychology class sorted 41 items, derived in part from open-ended responses of a large community sample, into a seven-category forced distribution. 55.5% of the sample was male. Cluster analysis of respondents' sorts yielded two types reflecting pro-life orientations toward the issue and two representing pro- choice orientations. Significant differences were found among the types on eight scales of the California Psychological Inventory, including scales assessing interpersonal effectiveness, intellectual competence, and flexibility. The types did not, however, differ on scales assessing respondents' orientation toward norms. These results demonstrate the strong feasibility and utility of employing the Abortion Beliefs Q-Sort in additional studies on the issue.     

Elements of objectivity in Wendell Phillips

The 1972 presidential campaign revolved around the theme of time. This theme organizes Muskie and Humphrey as anachronisms, Kennedy as promissory, McGovern as attempting to sponsor a historical myth, and Nixon as a figure divorced from a personal history.