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The Media, the Campaign, and the Message
Author(s) -
Flowers Julianne F.,
Haynes Audrey A.,
Crespin Michael H.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of political science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.347
H-Index - 170
eISSN - 1540-5907
pISSN - 0092-5853
DOI - 10.1111/1540-5907.00018
Subject(s) - newspaper , political science , presidential campaign , variety (cybernetics) , presidential system , voting , dissemination , race (biology) , advertising , state (computer science) , news media , public relations , politics , sociology , law , business , computer science , gender studies , algorithm , artificial intelligence
This article examines the 1996 press releases issued by Republican presidential nominee candidates during the invisible primary and the subsequent stories generated by these press releases in newspapers. We systematically examine how campaigns structure their messages, which messages are transmitted by the press to the voting public, and what factors influence the transmission of the campaign's message. We find that campaign organizations disseminate a variety of messages to the media. Our analysis demonstrates that national media organizations are most receptive to informative (logistical) messages disseminated by candidates who are at the head of the field and most hostile to substantive (issue‐oriented) messages regardless of their campaign of origin. By contrast, the state press is most open to substantive messages issued by lower‐tier candidates. It appears from our results that the media, more than the campaign, bear the responsibility for the emphasis on the horse race.