A cross-national analysis of election news coverage of female candidates' bids for presidential nomination in the United States and South Korea

This study has explored the US and Korean newspapers' election coverage in regard to their respective nations' female candidates relative to male rivals during the 2007–2008 presidential nomination campaigns. The findings reveal that both US and Korean newspapers displayed no bias in adopting personal, issue, and viability frames to cover the female candidates versus the male candidates. Additionally, the US dailies gave Clinton as much attention as Obama, as can be seen in the similar amount of articles, headlines, and primary coverage; however, Park, the female candidate in Korea, garnered a lower amount of articles and headlines, and was featured much less as the primary focus when compared to Lee, her male rival, in the Korean dailies. Evidence of biased coverage in the USA is found in the slant of coverage Clinton received. The overall tone of campaign coverage was less positive toward Clinton. While there was no tonal difference between Park and Lee in overall stories and headlines, the tone of Park's viability coverage was less positive than that of Lee, indicating that she was less likely to be the elected nominee for the party.     

A ‘Presidential Look’? An Analysis of Gender Framing in 2016 Persuasive Memes of Hillary Clinton

A persuasive campaign with elements of propaganda was waged on social media against Hillary Clinton during the 2016 U.S. presidential race, partially through a Russian-financed effort to discredit her. This study analyzed doctored images (memes) posted on Twitter about Clinton during the general election campaign. Through qualitative content analysis, researchers sought to identify whether negative memes reflected socially constructed gender stereotypes. Results show gendered frames used in memes against Clinton were based on female biological/physical traits (weak, ill, unattractive), anti-feminine traits (dishonest, untrustworthy), and negative female politician traits (dictatorial, unqualified) that were incongruent with the perceived role of the presidency.     

Metacoverage and Mediatization in US Presidential Elections

This article develops a theoretical model consisting of three mechanisms that link metacoverage, a type of election campaign news, to mediatization, a meta-process in which media organizations influence politics. The mechanisms hinge on the point that metacoverage—consisting of both topics and frames—constitutes a rich set of process-oriented cues that influence how campaign organizations adjust to the media logic in the course of performing functions associated with the office-seeking political campaign logic. A case study of 2012 US presidential election news was conducted to illustrate how metacoverage influences campaign strategies.     

Attribute Priming Effects and Presidential Candidate Evaluation: The Conditionality of Political Sophistication

Traditionally, two competing claims have arisen that attempt to explain the role of political sophistication in media effectiveness. I reassess the positive versus negative impacts of political sophistication on media priming effects by considering a curvilinear approach. I combine public opinion data (National Election Studies) on candidate selection criteria in 1992 and 2000 presidential elections with content analyses of campaign news coverage to see which segment of voters at different sophistication levels is most susceptible to media agendas. Quadratic regression analyses reveal that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between voters' susceptibility to campaign news and their level of political sophistication. Such a curvilinear relationship means that the moderately sophisticated are more likely to accept news agendas than the least or most sophisticated. The findings illuminate the long-standing debate about the inconsistent linear relationships between the two variables, providing a more cogent explanation underlying media priming effects.     

In/discernible bodies: the politics of passing in dominant and marginal media

This essay explores news media coverage of two types of alleged “passing”: passing across racial lines from Black to White and across sex lines from female to male. Textual analysis of dominant print media and print media discourses produced by and/or addressed to Blacks and queers reveals prominent frames through which news consumers are invited to perceive these events. In particular, the analysis demonstrates that both dominant and marginal social groups express the desire to fix the identities of passers in a single, discrete category, although these groups wish to do so for disparate reasons. In addition, marginal groups frame passing events within broad cultural and historical contexts in contrast to the narrow contexts framed by dominant media. Comparison of race and sex passing exposes the similarities–including community consternation about the passer–and differences–including disparate focus on civil rights rather than identity issues–between Black and queer coverage of these events. Comparison of race and sex passing also exposes the way in which dominant media correlate race passing with class passing, while sex passing is correlated to sexuality passing (that is, queer passing for heterosexual).     

First and second-level agenda-setting in the 2014 Indian general election: a time-series analysis of party-media relation

The role of the press as a political watchdog is crucial to the functioning of democracy. Especially in the run-up to elections, voters depend on the media's presentation of parties and candidates to make informed, responsible choices at the ballot box. But who, then, influences the news media? Empirical evidence in the United States and Europe suggests that political party campaigns and election coverage in the news media are interconnected and influence each other. This study tests whether such agenda-setting effects between party campaigns and the media also take place in the general elections in the world's largest democracy, India. India's western-type political system has a distinct media system characterized by high competition, diversification, non-consolidation and formal and informal ties between the media, commercial interests and political actors. Content analysis and Granger's causality test of newspaper coverage (N?=?716) and party campaign messages (N?=?458) found that agenda-setting effects do occur in India, but are largely bi-directional. We also found an overwhelming focus of both newspapers’ election coverage and of all major party campaigns on one single candidate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Narendra Modi. This, we argue, is a result of the broader trends that have shaped Indian politics in recent years. The significant correlations and non-significant causal effects between party campaign and media coverage also indicate a trade-off situation between political power negotiation and political balance in the press.     

The gods are drinking milk! Word‐of‐mouth diffusion of a major news event in India

The objective of this study is to explore whether the US media overemphasized recalled Chinese products in 2007 and, if so, how news coverage in the US media differed from that of the Chinese media. By using a framing analysis of the coverage in two US media and two Chinese media, this study pursues answers to these questions. After comparing the news coverage of the recalled Chinese products and a real world indictor, this study found that neither US nor Chinese media mirrored the real world phenomenon as it was. By comparing news coverage of the issue in The New York Times and The Associated Press with China Daily, and The Xinhua News Agency, the study found that news coverage of the recalled issues differed significantly in terms of the sources used, the nationality of the source, the dominant frames employed, and the attribution of responsibility for the problems. In particular, Chinese media more frequently employed government officials as their main sources, which inherently increased the use of thematic frames. By contrast, US media often used episodic frames. Likewise, American media approached the issues using ‘Customers' Worries’ and ‘Broken System’ frames, whereas Chinese media often attempted to defend the quality of Chinese products and criticized Western media for exaggerating the issues. Owing to the news framing process, US audiences might have acquired more negative images of Chinese products and China in general. By contrast, their Chinese counterparts might have experienced increased antipathy and distrust concerning the American media.     

Differences in the Way Broadcast,Cable and Public TV Reporters Used Women and Non-White Sources to Cover the 2008 Presidential Race

TV evening news coverage of the 2008 presidential election by broadcast, cable, and public networks was predominately male and Caucasian in terms of reporters and sources. However, according to our content analysis of 888 campaign stories, viewers saw the least amount of source diversity if they watched the evening news on broadcast networks ABC, CBS, and NBC. Cable networks FOX and CNN, and the PBS evening news had more female and non-White sources. This pattern also holds true for reporter use of nonpartisan sources. Findings on the 2008 election for the traditional broadcast networks are not consistent with those for the 2000 and 2004 elections, when female reporters at these networks had more female and nonpartisan sources in their election coverage than did their male colleagues. Reporters at PBS provided the greatest overall source diversity, regardless of their race or gender, compared to what was observed on broadcast and cable networks. Differences in the way reporters used women and non-White sources to cover the 2008 presidential race may be attributable to organizational factors.     

EFFECTS OF ATTENTION TO CAMPAIGN COVERAGE ON POLITICAL TRUST

This study examines whether or not attention to campaign newsinfluences political trust. It also explores whether politicaltrust predicts attention to campaign news, and whether the mechanismof influence between attention to campaign news and politicaltrust differs across educational levels. Political trust wasoperationalized as trust in government. The 1992 American NationalElection Survey data were used. Results of two-stage least squaresanalysis show that attention to television campaign coveragereduced trust in government, while a low level of trust in governmentincreased attention to newspaper campaign coverage. More importantly,the mechanism of influence between political trust and attentionto campaign coverage differed across educational levels. Amongthe less educated, attention to campaign coverage on televisionled to lower levels of trust. Among the more educated, a lowlevel of trust in government increased attention to campaigncoverage. The findings also indicate that the types of media(television vs. newspapers) matter when it comes to media effectson political trust, Implications of findings on the relationshipsbetween the concepts of political trust, vigilant skepticism,education, and media use are discussed.     

Using mass media in the presidential primaries: Effects on candidate issue knowledge and confidence in judging candidate viability

The role of mass media in the presidential primaries has not been examined in the same fashion as in the presidential general elections, congressional elections, and gubernatorial elections. This study is based on a survey (face‐to‐face interviews) of 392 adults randomly selected from a city with a population of 444,000 during the 1996 presidential primaries. The results of the hierarchical multiple regression analyses show that television news programs increase learning about candidate issue policies. People's confidence in judging which candidate has a better chance to win the party's nomination is influenced by reading of newspaper campaign stories, viewing of the campaign commercials, and their attention to the campaign news on TV. This study enriches our understanding of media effects in the presidential primaries.     

News Media Framing of Negative Campaigning

News media coverage of election campaigns is often characterized by use of the strategic game frame and a focus on politicians' use of negative campaigning. However, the exact relationship between these two characteristics of news coverage is largely unexplored. This article theorizes that consumer demand and norms of journalistic independence might induce the news media outlets to cover negative campaigning with a strategic game frame. A comprehensive content analysis based on several newspaper types, several election campaigns, and several different measurements of media framing confirms that news coverage of negative campaigning does apply the strategic game frame to a significantly larger degree than articles covering positive campaigning. This finding has significant implications for campaigning politicians and for scholars studying campaign and media effects.     

Predicting policy: exploring news attention to policy issues in electoral debates

Despite news fragmentation, declining levels of voter knowledge, and waning interest in U.S. politics, debates attract mass audiences, reduce barriers of learning, and offer a greater focus on policy issues than that typically found in campaign news coverage. Nonetheless, debates are routinely driven by the same commercial, for-profit news journalists who routinely emphasize strategic campaign issues (e.g. the horserace) at the expense of policy content. As moderators, journalists have been scrutinized for the agenda they set in electoral debates. Using a multiyear dataset that treats debate questions as the unit of analysis, this quantitative content analysis explores news routines in the context of mediated debates while isolating media characteristics predictive of news attention to policy matters. The data show that journalists working for local news outlets and those working for commercial outlets are more likely to emphasize policy issues. Implications for debate sponsorship and campaigns are discussed.     

Intermedia Agenda Setting in Television,Advertising, and Blogs During the 2004 Election

This study examined whether the candidate-controlled public relations tools of political ads and candidate blogs were successful in influencing the issue and news agenda of the major television news networks during the 2004 presidential election. Data showed strong correlations between blogs and the media agenda. Advertisements did not correlate with the media agenda. Cross-lag analyses showed that the media set the candidates' agenda. The authors suggest intermedia agenda setting occurred as the media transferred their agenda to campaign blogs.     

How to play the game of intellectual property rights in China: the impact of party affiliation and media location on the use of media frames

This paper explores the dynamic between media and social-political forces through a content analysis of Chinese media coverage of intellectual property rights (IPRs) since China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. We examined how media attributes, such as party affiliation and media location, have influenced the use of media frames. Three media frames were extracted from previous studies: (1) national interest; (2) cost and benefit; and (3) legal/contractual. Our results demonstrate that both media attributes exert significant influence on the use of media frames in IPRs coverage: the closer a news organization is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, the more likely it would adopt a national interest frame. Moreover, national press and party newspapers are more likely to adopt the national interest frame in covering IPRs-related issues; whereas, regional/popular and professional press are more likely to report the IPRs-related issues from economic and legal perspectives.     

Where Is My Issue? The Influence of News Coverage and Personal Issue Importance on Subsequent Information Selection on the Web

Researchers believe that the Web functions to supplement traditional news media. Little is known, however, about how traditional news media consumption influences Web use patterns. This study investigates how prior TV news exposure influences individuals' subsequent Web use by testing 3 theories that may explain individuals' information selection patterns—accessibility, instrumental utility, and personal issue importance. The results of this study reveal the strong effects of personal issue importance when selecting information on the Web, regardless of news coverage in traditional media. The findings also indicate higher levels of information selection when there is no prior exposure to news coverage.     

Hyperlocal News Coverage: A Population Ecology Perspective

Adopting a population ecology perspective, this study tests the influence of population-level factors on news coverage in hyperlocal websites. Specifically, level of legitimacy of the hyperlocal website population is assessed as a predictor of frequency and favorability of coverage of local businesses and government organizations. Traditional “field-level” predictors from media sociology are also examined. Among the field-level factors tested, professional background of staff and affiliation with traditional media organizations proved most important in explaining favorability of coverage, and level of advertising was an important predictor of frequency of coverage. The level of the population’s legitimacy also corresponded significantly with frequency of coverage. Results suggest that factors related to the population level and to institutionalization over time are relevant, even for the hyperlocal website, a relatively young and idiosyncratic media form. These factors warrant attention in future research.     

From theft to racist brawl: the framing of Low Yat incident by Malaysian newspapers

This study aimed to conduct a framing analysis on the coverage of the Law Yat incident, whereby a theft case was escalated into racist brawl in Malaysia. The study compared the coverage of mainstream Malay-, English- and Chinese-language as well as alternative newspapers. The findings indicated that the newspapers reported the incident with different intensity, prominence, news sources, news frames and valence. It was found that the Law Yat incident has been highly racialized by irresponsible bloggers, social media users and politicians in the country. The findings also reflected that race and ethnicity issues remain highly politicized in Malaysia.     

Framing the crisis by one's seat: a comparative study of newspaper frames of the Asiana crash in the USA,Korea, and China

This study compared newspaper frames of the 2013 Asiana Airlines crash in the three countries involved: the USA, Korea, and China. The results revealed distinct patterns of news coverage under the particular influence of national interests. The responsibility frame was the most frequently used, but the attribution of responsibility varied across the three countries. US newspapers overwhelmingly attributed the causation to pilot error, Korean media framed the causation as being open to multiple explanations, and Chinese newspapers were less likely to speculate about causation before the final official conclusion was reached. US and Korean media maintained a negative tone toward each other, while Chinese newspapers took a similar standpoint as the US media but were slightly less negative toward Korea. Further, divergence of news frames used across countries was associated with the different use of sources by different newspapers across countries. In particular, Korean media indicated reluctance to use US officials and a preference to cite alternative sources which offered diverse opinions regarding the attribution of responsibility. Finally, emotions of the crash stories varied by attributions of causation in Korean but not in the other countries’ news reports.     

Surveillance/Discipline/Resistance: Carly Fiorina under the Gaze of The Wall Street Journal

This essay examines how news discourses of former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina shaped her professional persona throughout her tenure with the company. At a time when only eight out of the Fortune 500 companies had female CEOs, she was often identified as the most powerful female CEO in the United States. This high-profile position brought with it much media attention and focus on her gender, her performance, and her “visibility.” Through a Foucauldian analysis of The Wall Street Journal, I illustrate how Fiorina's public identity was shaped and disciplined through the popular press and explore the opportunities for resisting certain subject positions. This analysis reveals the complex relationships between organizations and broader social discourses that involve gendered workplaces, glass ceilings, and even the role of the visual in organizational life.     

Newspaper Portrayals of Child Abuse: Frequency of Coverage and Frames of the Issue

For several years, child welfare advocates have claimed that the U.S. news media misrepresent child abuse and fail to highlight its societal dimensions. To investigate the accuracy of this diagnosis, the following study examines findings of a content analysis of child abuse coverage in major national and urban U.S. newspapers from 2000 to 2008. First, we determine how frequently newspapers covered the different types of child abuse. Second, we analyze whether child abuse has been framed as either an isolated phenomenon (episodic and individual frames) or a broadly systemic and public problem (thematic and societal frames). Third, we look for changes in coverage frequency and media frames over time. Findings are mixed: On one hand, different types of child abuse receive varying degrees of coverage, with sexual abuse receiving a disproportionately large amount; on the other hand, the topic of child abuse in general has predominantly been framed thematically as a problem that has societal causes and solutions. However, there was no clear pattern in the way these causes and solutions have been framed over the years. Based on these findings, we suggest that child welfare advocates should focus on communication goals other than influencing media frames.