Search

This paper discusses media impact in referendum campaigns and presents two research projects currently in process at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, partially in cooperation with Stanford University, USA, out of which first findings will be on hand in June 2006. Central questions of the research projects presented are questions about the role of news media in referendum campaigns, and how news media cover the referendum process and the consequences of its intervention in this process. Although considerable research has tended to focus on influencing factors for voting behaviour and so the outcome of referenda, very little attention has been paid to the influences through media coverage. Furthermore, apart from very high normative demands on the information function of mass media in democratic societies, little is, however, known about the effective information performance of media coverage in referendum processes. So, both of the presented projects focus on one of the most important preconditions of direct democracy institutions: information performance of mass media in processes of direct legislation. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While racial and gender equality has significantly improved in the United States, there are still indications that racial/ethnic minorities and women are objects of discrimination. This study uses a 4x2 experiment with 296 adult participants to examine whether candidatesÂ’ gender and race are factors of winning elections. Results show that candidateÂ’s race is more likely than gender to influence votersÂ’ assessment of the chance to be elected to public offices. AmerciansÂ’ belief in equality is strongly linked to likelihood to support non-White candidates. Also, participants showed greater support for non-White candidates than their estimate of othersÂ’ tendency. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the role of political public relations in the process of intercandidate agenda-setting. Specifically, a content analysis of news releases, political speeches, and issue platform statements was conducted to assess the salience of issues and attributes in the 2004 presidential election from the Bush, Kerry, and Nader campaigns. While modest evidence for intercandidate agenda-setting regarding issue salience was obtained, more robust support was present for attribute salience relationships. In light of these findings, the theoretical and practical implications for political public relations are discussed. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ a new aspect of today’s information environment, the “decision agent,” to examine whether people can make better candidate selections when an electronic agent assists by providing information comparing an individual’s stands on issues to those of candidates or the candidates’ supporters. The study was conducted during the 2004 election. We find that when electronic agents elicit individual preferences and provide information about the alternatives, voters do, indeed, alter their evaluations to be consistent with their own issue stands. They not only increased support for the best-fitting candidate, but also decreased support for their preferred candidate. There are two important aspects of these results. First, it appears to be real change, holding for two weeks, at least until the night before the election. Second, the effect was stronger when the information was about a candidate’s supporters stands than the candidate’s stands on the issues. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the process of campaign agenda formation, focusing on the role of political advertising--an efficient surrogate of the whole campaign agenda. The data analyses provided partial support for the hypothesis that campaign ads function as a significant agenda setter for the news media. Televised candidate commercials meaningfully influenced subsequent candidate coverage on television, yet showed a mutual relationship with the print news. The data, however, provided strong support for the print news’s role as an agenda initiator for broadcasting news. It was also found that the tone of advertising moderated the effects of campaign ads on subsequent news coverage; there was a stronger correspondence of the news agenda with oppositional ads than with self-promoting ads. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]