A Functional Analysis of Presidential Direct Mail Advertising

This study investigated the nature of direct mail advertising, a commonly used but little studied form of political campaign communication. 715 brochures were content analyzed employing the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse and Issue Ownership Theory. Acclaims were more common than attacks, which in turn were more frequent than defenses. Primary campaign pamphlets used more acclaims and fewer attacks than general campaign brochures. Democrats used more attacks and fewer acclaims than Republicans. In the general campaign, incumbent party candidates acclaimed more and attacked less than challengers. Incumbents were also prone to use past deeds to acclaim more, and attack less, than challengers. Incumbents tended to use future plans to acclaim more, and attack less, than challengers. Winners used more acclaims and fewer attacks than losers. Overall, direct mail brochures discussed policy more than character. Democrats discussed policy more and character less than Republicans. Democrats discussed Democratic issues more, and Republican issues less, than Republicans. Incumbent party candidates discussed policy more, and character less, than challengers. Winners discussed policy more, and character less, than losers. Winners attacked more on policy, and less on character, than losers. Similarities and differences between direct mail advertising and other message forms were discussed.     

The Role of the Internet in Presidential Campaigns

This essay examines the various roles and functions of the Internet predominantly in the Democratic primaries from January 1, 2008 through June 3, 2008. After tracing the emergence of the Internet in presidential campaigns since 1996, three functions of the Internet during the 2008 primary campaigns are examined. First, Democratic candidates employed their Web sites to create ideological unity, involvement, and commitment among their supporters and as a foundation for a new source of campaign funding, especially among small donors. Second, the Internet provides a foundation for tracking, if not predicting, the success of specific candidates at different stages in the campaign process. Third, while only an emergent force, the Internet increasingly appears to be functioning as an independent, if not discrete, sociopolitical system with unique modes of interaction, its own rules and procedures, and ultimately its own standards and guidelines for presidential campaigns. It is concluded that while the Internet can be usefully viewed strategically as an instrument to be manipulated by political candidates, it may be appropriate to also examine the Internet as a unique and discrete social system with its own ethos, pathos, and logos.     

Looking Presidential: A Comparison of Newspaper Photographs of Candidates in the United States and Taiwan

News coverage of elections is a popular topic in mass and political communication research. Studies of this tradition usually focus on news articles and neglect another important element of news content: news photographs. In this study, newspaper photographs of presidential candidates in the United States and Taiwan were compared. Generally, US candidates were more likely to be portrayed as a beloved leader, at leisure, from the side or back, looking determined, as a leader and follower, standing or walking, and with cheering crowds. Candidates in Taiwan were more likely to be depicted in a ‘glad-to-see-you’ pose, with a camera angle looking down, with no expression, as an equal to others in the same photograph, and with inattentive people. How political and cultural differences between these two countries may have contributed to such variations was also discussed in this study.     

略论福布斯图书馆及其卡尔文·柯立芝总统档案

福布斯图书馆是美国一所公立图书馆,服务设施完善,所藏文献资料独具特色,尤其卡尔文·柯立芝总统档案最值得称道。其所属卡尔文·柯立芝总统图书馆及博物馆的档案文献为深入研究卡尔文·柯立芝这个政治人物提供了非常好的第一手资料。     

Presidential spectacles: Political illusionism and the rhetoric of travel

This essay explores the rhetorical implications of presidential travel spectacles. A form of political illusionism, travel spectacles enable administrations to marginalize verbal eloquence, visually simplify complex political issues, narratively interpret presidential agendas, synoptically reify presidential personae, and construct or mystify political realities. Discussed are implications of political illusionism for the presidency, citizenry, and rhetorical critic.     

A Functional Analysis of the 2002 Korean Presidential Debates

This study applied the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse to the 2002 Korean presidential debates. These messages stressed acclaims (positive statements) more than attacks; defenses were the least common function. Policy (issues) occurred more frequently than character (image). General goals and ideals were used more to acclaim than attack. The incumbent party candidate acclaimed more and attacked less than challenger party candidates (and acclaimed more and attacked less on past deeds in particular). The most common form of defense was simple denial. These results were contrasted with the most recent American presidential debates to reveal similarities and differences between presidential debates in these two cultures.     

俄罗斯叶利钦总统图书馆的特色与价值

叶利钦总统图书馆是俄罗斯的国家图书馆、国家数字图书馆,集图书馆、档案馆、博物馆的职能于一身,收藏图书、档案、政府信息等文献,具有馆藏文献主题专一、电子化收藏、无实体馆藏、文献来源广泛、文献价值高等特色,促进了俄罗斯图书馆事业的新发展,对传扬俄罗斯文化、全俄信息空间建设、凝聚爱国情怀等具有重要意义。     

参考咨询服务研究热点分析

概述了近年来国内外图书馆参考咨询领域的学术会议与代表作，并在此基础上总结出该领域的研究热点。     

Presidential rhetoric's visual turn: Performance fragments and the politics of illusionism

This essay explores the aesthetic and rhetorical implications of prudent and imprudent presidential performance fragments embodied in photo‐opportunities, thereby addressing presidential rhetoric's “visual turn. “Assembled as a critical rhetoric text, this essay posits that presidential performance fragments privilege the dominant ideology and its power relationships. In addition, this project argues that prudent presidential performances signal a chief executive's consubstantiality with the mythic presidency, centralized authority, and active political leadership. Imprudent photo‐opportunity performances, by contrast, impact negatively a president's image, agenda, credibility, and authority. The essay concludes with a discussion of how political images symbolically affect the citizenry and democratic processes, and advances foundational issues for the critic.     

《美国新闻与世界报道》2000年涉华报道透视

《美国新闻与世界报道》是美国三大新闻周刊之一 ,在美国社会有着较大的影响。本文分析了该周刊 2 0 0 0年的 3 5篇涉华报道 ,并与以往的涉华报道和该杂志对其他国家如日本和俄罗斯的报道进行比较 ,试图找到该杂志以及美国主流媒体在涉华报道上的议题设置、报道用词与技巧 ,及其最近的一些新变化。这些变化有助于我们正确认识美国媒体及其涉华报道的态度和方法。     

Candidate-Issue Positioning in the Context of Presidential Debates

This paper presents an analysis of three presidential candidates, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot, who participated in the 1992 presidential debates. The relationships among the three candidates and between each candidate and the issues were examined using semantic network analysis. The results indicate a two-against-one strategy that was issue specific. The candidates teamed up in different pairs, depending on the topic at hand. The results also show the issues that the candidates emphasized most. Specifically, Clinton and Perot had more focused communication consistent with their respective campaign themes of domestic and financial concerns, while Bush did not emphasize any one particular theme. The implications of these differences are discussed, as are the theoretical and practical implications for debater tactics and the strategic use of language for emphasizing political platforms.     

Candidate-Issue Positioning in the Context of Presidential Debates

This paper presents an analysis of three presidential candidates, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot, who participated in the 1992 presidential debates. The relationships among the three candidates and between each candidate and the issues were examined using semantic network analysis. The results indicate a two-against-one strategy that was issue specific. The candidates teamed up in different pairs, depending on the topic at hand. The results also show the issues that the candidates emphasized most. Specifically, Clinton and Perot had more focused communication consistent with their respective campaign themes of domestic and financial concerns, while Bush did not emphasize any one particular theme. The implications of these differences are discussed, as are the theoretical and practical implications for debater tactics and the strategic use of language for emphasizing political platforms.     

从美国媒体报道看PNTR的通过

20 0 0年美国媒体对中美永久正常贸易关系 (PNTR)的报道 ,数量大、范围广、观点多。同时 ,围绕这一主题的报道 ,又体现出经济问题政治化、国际报道国内化的特点。总之 ,政府和工商界的影响 ,媒体自身的利益 ,推动了此次报道较以往对华负面报道的积极变化 ,促成了PNTR的通过。但美国媒体对PNTR的正面报道应看作是特例。     

A cross-cultural perspective on videostyles of presidential debates in the US and Korea

This study intends to examine the representation of cultural values through the presidential candidate debates of the US and South Korea. A content analysis of the videostyles of debates in these two countries showed that political debates seemed to manifest differences in cultural values at large due to their nature as conspicuous indicators of cultural values. By examining specific verbal components of the debates, however, this study revealed that the nature of presidential debates might actually overpower cultural norms, which are likely to be embedded in debates. These findings imply that by imitating campaign practice developments in the US, many countries are transitioning to media-centered democracies in which various forms of mass media, particularly television, technological innovations, and political marketing approaches, have grown to play a significant role in influencing and changing the nature of electoral communication and other political practices around the globe.     

French and Feminine: Hegemonic Masculinity and the Emasculation of John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Race

French leaders met the September 2002 announcement of preemptive U.S. military action in Iraq with open disapproval. Thereafter, in the build-up to the “Iraq war,” as U.S. military strikes began in 2003 and continued in 2004, France became the target of nationalistic attacks in the United States. Building on this anti-French sentiment, George W. Bush's 2004 presidential campaign used narratives that cast Frenchness as feminine, assigning “Frenchness” to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry—and thereby characterizing him as unfit for the White House. Specifically, political conservatives sought to strip Kerry of the masculine qualities perceived necessary to serve as president of the United States. Analysis of American political and media discourse from September 2002 to November 2004 shows that the 2004 presidential campaign came to be defined in substantial part by nationalistic and sexist political communications that capitalized upon and reinscribed patterns and norms of hegemonic masculinity while also feminizing and devaluing dissent in times of war.     

新闻构架、符码与制造同意的艺术——美国媒体“十六大”报道综合分析

本文运用西方新闻学研究的框架和符码理论对美国媒体有关中共“十六大”的报道进行定性和定量分析 ,旨在揭示美国媒体与主流意识形态间的互动关系 ,加深我们对美国媒体国际新闻报道运作规律的认识     

试论美国新闻传播中的更正制度

美国新闻传播中对报道失实的更正已经制度化 ,其更正类型多为主动更正型 ,更正项目的确定和刊登有一定的程序 ,新闻更正强调迅速、公正、平等。更正制度的产生有着深刻的社会原因和时代背景 ,在调整新闻关系方面发挥了重要作用 ,但由于制度的先天不足和人为执行时的后天失调 ,仍存在着很多不如人意之处。     

“互联网总统”的迷思——2008美国总统大选中的互联网应用分析

不少人将奥巴马称为互联网总统,强调其胜利归功于善用互联网。这种说法容易导致将社会变迁简单归因于某种媒介技术的采纳与应用。本文通过一系列实证数据的分析,破除有关的迷思(myth),说明互联网应用并非奥巴马取胜的决定因素。进而分析了奥巴马在选举过程中主要采纳了哪些互联网应用,以及从哪些方面来认识互联网给奥巴马带来的帮助,给美国总统选举带来的变革。