Politics of representation in the digital media environment: presentation of the female candidate between news coverage and the website in the 2007 Korean presidential primary

This study analyzes how a female candidate was presented in the news media and on her campaign website, in order to compare the politics of gender representation in news coverage and campaign communication. Content analysis of news coverage of a Korean female candidate and the candidate's website shows that the female candidate was differently portrayed in the two media in presentations of personal trait frames, the linkage between issues and personal traits, and other gender-related characteristics, although the quantity of issue frames did not differ significantly. The findings suggest that although the news coverage still tends to reinforce gender stereotypes regarding a female candidate, the candidate used or articulated gender identities in her campaign website to oppose framing stereotypes in the traditional news media.     

Becoming a Presidential Candidate: Social Media Following and Politician Identification

Political candidates increasingly use social media to tell their stories, share their thoughts and feelings and chronicle an unfolding election. We argue that the concept of identification—the process through which an audience member cognitively assumes the perspective of a media personality—can help illuminate how online campaigns can increase citizen support. This study employed a two-wave survey with a U.S. national sample conducted prior to the 2016 presidential election. Results of our analysis support our expectations that following Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on social media leads to increased identification with that candidate, which then affects candidate support.     

Candidates’ use of informal communication on social media reduces credibility and support: Examining the consequences of expectancy violations

ABSTRACT

This experiment (N= 476) investigates how individuals evaluate political candidates who use informal communication on social media. We use expectancy violations theory (EVT) to predict that informal communication will lead to negative evaluations. Our results suggest that politicians’ use of informal communication on social media leads to expectancy violation, which decreases perceived credibility and lessens intention to support a candidate. This effect was not moderated by sex (male versus female) or age (young versus old) of the candidate, nor of participants being the same sex as the candidate. These findings suggest that political figures should use informal communication on social media with caution.     

负面竞选广告研究综述

本文梳理归纳了负面竞选广告相关研究的切入角度和结论,总结存在的分歧,指明未来研究的方向。综述发现,负面竞选广告研究大都基于西方文化背景和传统媒体,广告的使用受到候选人在任与否、民意支持度、所属政党、竞选阶段和文化的影响;广告发挥了候选人所预期的效果,但也可能产生反弹效果。此外,负面竞选广告对政治参与是促进还是抑制作用,已有研究结果尚存分歧。     

She’s Hot,for a Politician: The Impact of Objectifying Commentary on Perceived Credibility of Female Candidates

The way female politicians are discussed in traditional and new media may contribute to the way individuals evaluate those candidates. Objectification theory suggests that framing individuals in a way that reduces them to their physical characteristics is detrimental to perceived agency. To that end, an experiment was designed to determine the impact of objectifying comments on the evaluation of female candidates. Researchers created two Facebook feeds discussing a hypothetical female candidate. For both feeds, the discussion focused on the candidate’s policy credentials, with one feed containing commentary on the female candidate’s body. Aspects of credibility and suitability for office were impacted by objectifying commentary, implying the need for future research directed at the specific impact objectification has on candidate evaluation.     

Which candidates do the public discuss online in an election campaign?: The use of social media by 2012 presidential candidates and its impact on candidate salience

The effects of new communication technologies on election campaigns, and the effectiveness of media-centered campaign strategies more broadly, remain ongoing subjects for debate in political science. This study provides some of the first empirical evidence about the potential impact of social media on the 2012 U.S. presidential elections, by testing the association between “candidate salience” and the candidates' level of engagement in online social media sphere. We define “candidate salience” as the extent to which candidates are discussed online by the public in an election campaign, and have selected the number of mentions presidential candidates receive on the social media site, Twitter, as means of quantifying their salience. This strategy allows us to examine whether social media, which is widely recognized as disruptive in the broader economic and social domains, has the potential to change the traditional dynamics of U.S. election campaigns. We find that while social media does substantially expand the possible modes and methods of election campaigning, high levels of social media activity on the part of presidential candidates have, as of yet, resulted in minimal effects on the amount of public attention they receive online.     

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.     

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.     

Another Look at What Moves Public Opinion: Media Agenda Setting and Polls in the 2000 U.S. Election

This study examined two levels of media agenda effects on aggregatepublic opinion from different news sources. The effects wereinvestigated immediately and cumulatively. Content analysisdata from the 2000 U.S. presidential election coverage by fournational news organizations were related to the Gallup pre-electionpoll standings of each candidate. Regression analyses foundthat both the salience of a candidate and the salience of theattributes of a candidate cumulatively, but not immediately,influenced his standing in the polls. An analysis of news sourcessupported the finding that the two levels of agenda-settingeffects seemed mostly cumulative rather than immediate. Newsfrom different sources, however, tended to have effects of differentdegrees and sometimes different directions on candidate pollstandings. Cumulative effects of candidate salience on aggregateopinion change were found for non-partisan and neutral newssources—reporters, poll reporting and public documents—whereasthe effects of candidate attribute salience mostly came frompartisan sources—the candidate himself and members ofthe competing political party. Possible political implicationsof these findings are discussed.     

Biased into posting: interactions with social media network political posts during the 2016 U.S. presidential election

The 2016 U.S. presidential election saw social media continue to play an important role in citizens’ political engagement. This study examines the effect of seeing social media political post sharing on individuals’ own political post sharing. Results from a two-wave survey suggest the interplay within the network is important. Seeing others share political posts and perceiving posts were biased towards a candidate predicted sharing political posts.     

The Interaction of Issue and Image Frames on Political Candidate Assessment

This study examined the combined effect of character and policy coverage about a political candidate in news media on voters’ evaluations and thoughts about the candidate. A 2 (issue coverage: present/absent) × 2 (image coverage: present/absent) between-subject factorial experiment was conducted whereby participants (N = 134) read a version of an editorial article that varied in the coverage of a candidate’s character and policy positions. Results indicated that issue and image coverage, each in isolation, enhanced perceptions of the candidate’s image strength and issue strength. However, issue and image coverage when presented in combination compared to in isolation did not enhance perceptions of the candidate and in some cases hindered perceptions of candidate strength. When both coverage types were present, issue coverage dominated image coverage when participants formed image evaluations, whereas image coverage dominated issue coverage when they formed issue evaluations. Similar findings resulted for issue- and image-relevant thoughts. Implications about the effects of multicoverage political messages are discussed.     

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.     

Dynamic profiles using sentiment analysis and twitter data for voting advice applications

Nowadays, political campaigns combine traditional media channels with social media platforms, opening new and promising possibilities for parties and candidates looking for better political strategies and visibility. Voting advice applications (VAAs) recommend parties and candidates that are close to a citizen's political preferences and require the constrution of candidate and party profiles. Profile generation is an essential task in the development of VAAs and requires two steps: an unbiased design of political questionnaires and the collection of all candidates' answers. This paper presents an extension of a VAA, implemented in within the project Participa Inteligente (PI), a social-network platform designed for the 2017 Ecuadorian national elections. This work concentrates on the implementation of dynamic candidate profiling using Twitter data and sentiment analysis as an additional element to the static profile generation of VAAs. The implementation of a dynamic element for VAAs could help mitigate the effect of biased recommendations given during the construction of candidate and party profiles. At the end of this work, the dynamic profile is compared with the classic static elements developed within the PI project. The results show the level of similarities and differences between each of the elements in profile generation. This work provides an ideal basis for future research in the area of VAAs and their interfaces. Additionally, it opens up a broader spectrum of applications for policymakers including decision-making and collaborative working environments toward e-empowerment.     

Knowledge Versus Beliefs: How Knowledge and Beliefs Mediate The Influence of Likeminded Media use on Political Polarization and Participation

Using cross-sectional data from the 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey, this study tests 2 models that explicate the relationship between politically likeminded media use and political polarization and participation. The knowledge model suggests that the effects of exposure to likeminded media on individuals’ attitudinal polarization and political participation are mediated by knowledge of candidate issue stances. The belief model proposes that likeminded media use indirectly influences political polarization and participation via political beliefs. The results provide evidence that individuals’ beliefs mediate the influence of likeminded media consumption on attitudinal polarization and participation, but there was no support for the knowledge model. These findings indicate that individuals who consume politically likeminded news tend to develop polarized attitudes and are motivated to participate in political activities by forming biased beliefs associated with candidates rather than by gaining factual issue knowledge.     

Jumping the Shark

What is the effect on media coverage of politics when political actors conform to market aspects of media logic by “jumping the shark”—staging dramatic political events to fit the demands of the media—thus reflecting what Strömbäck characterizes as the fourth phase of mediatization? Our paper answers this question with a large-scale, longitudinal analysis of how The Globe and Mail, Canada's leading national newspaper, covered 13 Canadian party leadership contests held between 1975 and 2012. We analyzed changes in the amount and style of reporting over the course of this 37-year time period, finding that the Globe has provided less coverage of party leadership competitions overall. The diminishing number of stories printed on the subject increasingly feature opinion writing, photos, combative language and the elevation of the individual candidate over the party organization. Our findings support a key element of the mediatization thesis: the shift from political logic to media logic as an organizing principle for political communications.     

Modeling the Effects of Political Information Source Use and Online Expression on Young Adults’ Political Efficacy

This online survey conducted at a public university in the Northwest (N = 434) examines the influence of political involvement, information source attention, and online political discussion on young adults’ political efficacy. A factor analysis indicated that political information sources loaded into three factors including conventional and online hard news media such as newspapers, opinion and social media such as blogs or social networking websites, and public affairs websites including government and candidate websites. A path analysis revealed significant differences in their association with online political expression and external efficacy. As an entry point in the theoretical model, involvement in public affairs positively associated with attention to political information sources, online political expression, and external political efficacy. Attention to hard news and to public affairs websites positively predicted political efficacy. Attention to online opinion and social media and to public affairs websites positively predicted online political expression.     

Integrating Theoretical Traditions in Media Effects: Using Third-Person Effects to Link Agenda-Setting and Cultivation

In an earlier period of mass communication research, scholars were more adventuresome in advancing “new” theories and less hesitant to “create” theory. The 1970s, in particular, bore witness to the emergence of several such theories—from the knowledge gap and agenda-setting to cultivation. Scholars have generated substantial literatures elaborating work in these and other traditions. Those contributions are now sufficiently robust that it is time to direct some of our energies toward synthesizing theories. This article nominates third-person perception as a candidate for such integration. Several prominent theories of media effects in the mass communication literature are selected to illustrate how the theories can or have been integrated. Results from three surveys provided evidence that the theories of third-person perception, agenda-setting and cultivation can be interrelated. The proposition examined here can serve as a model for further integration of other media theories. This integration attempt harkened back to the times when theory building in media effects was more common and perhaps more optimistic about explaining processes of influence.     

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.     

Dual-Screening the Candidate Image during Presidential Debates: The Moderating Role of Twitter and Need to Evaluate for the Effects on Candidate Perceptions

This study investigates the impact of dual-screening on audiences’ perceptions of presidential candidates during the 2016 electoral campaign. The results suggest that dual-screening can exert a significant moderation role, weakening the direct effects of the televised debates on candidate perceptions. The results also imply that the role of dual-screening might be dependent on the audience’s need-to-evaluate characteristic. These findings address the pressing societal questions on ways that digital disruption is impacting the role of traditional media in political campaigns and our theoretical understanding of this process.     

Dialed In: Continuous Response Measures in Televised Political Debates and Their Effect on Viewers

As a result of emerging debate formats and technological advancements over the years, the media started using continuous response measures (CRMs) in the form of on-screen trackers, allowing select audiences to rate candidate performances in political debates in 2004. Given the limited amount of scholarly research that has tackled this issue, this study aims to investigate the effect of CRMs on college students’ voting choices and perceptions of political candidates. This experimental study has found that these trackers did influence the participants’ evaluations of the political candidates shown in the debate regardless of previously stated political affiliation.