2. Influence of media on elections
Party influence on votes lower than it once was – no longer have machines telling people what to do or party leaders picking each party’s nominees.
Voters decide and media plays big role in that decision.
Media tells voters about candidates’ policy positions, character, how “electable” they are (poll results)

3. Larry Sabato
Case studies of media coverage of presidential candidates:
Michael Dukakis
Dan Quayle
Consequences of media coverage?

4. Thomas Patterson
Game Schema (how media reports on politics) Versus Governing Schema (how voters view politics) Press is a MISCAST INSTITUTION in presidential elections: Why? Reforms in nominating system What kind of institution is needed to properly organize electoral opinion?

6. Grabe and Bucy – visual framing of elections
Looked at visuals in TV news, presidential election coverage
“Visuals are an important and distinctive part of TV” news – not just soundbites that matter – in fact, “image bites” are more common
FIND: visuals (images) provide citizens with CUES to make sensible voting decisions, help improve voters knowledge, can have significant effects on views of candidates (Dean’s famous “scream”)

7. Image bites can generate strong emotional reactions in viewers, allow for inferences about candidates’ character & electability
VISUAL INFORMATION IS “demographically equalizing” – helps uneducated as well as educated voters make political decisions

8. Campaign Advertising

12. Candidate advertising in elections
Candidates go around media coverage and try to present their own image/control the message
Tell personal story, convey policy views, send happy vibes about a candidacy
FAMOUS ADS: Ike and JFK, Morning in America (Reagan), Man from Hope (Clinton),
West (in Graber):
Advertisements inform voters about candidates, their stands on issues, help candidates establish familiarity with voters.
Especially useful in primaries where voters don’t know much about candidates

13. * Examples of how ads affect voters (West chapter in Graber)
Views on stands on issues
Likability
Electability

14. NEGATIVE ADVERTISING Others say A&I’s gloom and doom is exaggerated
Examples: Daisy Ad, Willie Horton ad, Bush’s “John Kerry is a flip-flopper” ad)
Ansolabehere and Iyengar: negative ads “demobilize” the electorate –
-turn people off and lead to lower voter turnout, more so among Democrats & Independents
-lead to lower sense of political efficacy
Others say A&I’s gloom and doom is exaggerated

15. Kenneth Goldstein: negative campaign ads contribute to healthy democracy
They have bigger effect on voters than positive/happy ads
Provide a contrast between candidates –
teach voters whereas positive ads play on your emotions
Especially beneficial for people who lack political information and don’t seek it out elsewhere (i.e. in news stories, political blogs, etc.)

16. Primaries – coverage focused on horse race
Patterson – coverage of 2016 election – primaries and generals (analyzed networks, CNN, Fox, WaPo, NYT, LA Times)
Primaries – coverage focused on horse race
Trump got more coverage and more positive coverage than other R candidates

17. Competitive game – who is winning and losing
Topics covered
Competitive game – who is winning and losing
Campaign process
Substantive topics and policy positions – only 11 percent of coverage about primaries

18. “Gaining ground and losing ground” narratives
Trump Rubio
Clinton
Sanders

19. Coverage of 2016 general elections
Negativity toward both Clinton and Trump (departure for Trump, who got POSITIVE coverage in primary season, due to horse race emphasis)- even negative on Fox… (73% v. 89% for CBS). And Clinton’s coverage from “liberal” outlets like NYT and CBS was still more neg. than positive
(Aug-Nov 2016: every week coverage at least 64% negative – increase in negativity since 1960, only 2000 election was MORE negative than 2016)
Negativity applied to coverage of many things: candidates’ stands on various policies; candidates’ fitness for office

20. As with primaries…
Horse race got most coverage, candidates’ policy stands got least (pie chart)