Campaign Communications in U.S. Congressional Elections

2009 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES N. DRUCKMAN ◽  
MARTIN J. KIFER ◽  
MICHAEL PARKIN
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Congressional Elections ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
Rhetorical Strategies ◽  
Complete Understanding ◽  
Negative Campaigning ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
Congressional Campaigns ◽  
Advance Research

Electoral campaigns are the foundation of democratic governance; yet scholarship on the content of campaign communications remains underdeveloped. In this paper, we advance research on U.S. congressional campaigns by integrating and extending extant theories of campaign communication. We test the resulting predictions with a novel dataset based on candidate Web sites over three election cycles. Unlike television advertisements or newspaper coverage, Web sites provide an unmediated, holistic, and representative portrait of campaigns. We find that incumbents and challengers differ across a broad range of behavior that reflects varying attitudes toward risk, that incumbents’ strategies depend on the competitiveness of the race, and that candidates link negative campaigning to other aspects of their rhetorical strategies. Our efforts provide researchers with a basis for moving toward a more complete understanding of congressional campaigns.

scholarly journals Political Vigilante Groups in Ghana: Violence or Democracy?

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-338
Author(s):  
Justice Richard Kwabena Owusu Kyei ◽  
Lidewyde H. Berckmoes
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Political Field ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Organisational Structures ◽  
Depth Interviews

Literature on political vigilante groups has centred on the violence and conflict that emanate from their activities. This article approaches political vigilante groups as political actors who engage in political mobilisation and participation and therewith also contribute to nation state building. It explores how such groups participate in Ghana’s democratic governance and asks whether violence is an inevitable characteristic. The article builds on individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with political vigilante group members in Kumasi and Tamale in 2019. Findings show that political vigilante “youth” appeared to refer primarily to the social position attributed to non-elite groups in the political field. Political vigilante groups are multi-faceted in their organisational structures, membership, and activities both during electoral campaigns and during governing periods. While some groups revert to violence occasionally, the study concludes that political vigilante groups, in enabling different voices to be heard, are also contributing to democratic governance.

Corporate rhetorical strategies in the legitimation of genetically modified foods

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Gauthier ◽  
Jeffrey A. Kappen
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Genetically Modified Foods ◽  
Rhetorical Strategies ◽  
Complete Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Growing Body

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the rhetorical strategies used by organizations when the legitimacy of their products is challenged by stakeholders’ sustainability concerns. Design/methodology/approach The approach involves rhetorical analysis of texts addressing the implications of genetically modified foods for sustainability. The rhetorical logic (pathos, logos, or ethos) and discursive intent (promotion of validity or propriety) invoked by leading seed producers to address stakeholders’ sustainability concerns was identified. Findings Ethos was found to be used to address validity judgments, pathos to address propriety judgments, and logos to address both validity and propriety judgments. The mechanisms through which rhetorical logic supports discursive intent are described. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to a growing body of research at the intersection of discourse and legitimacy, and reveals the rhetorical strategies used to address stakeholders’ sustainability concerns. Future research can build on the study’s findings by examining the effectiveness of distinct rhetorical strategies in building legitimacy. Originality/value We lack a complete understanding of how legitimacy is discursively constructed when stakeholder concerns, such as those around sustainability, threaten an organization’s legitimacy. This paper’s examination of rhetorical logic and discursive intent advances this understanding.

scholarly journals Campaign Contributions: Online Newspaper Coverage of Election 2000

2003 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane B. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Campaign Contributions ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Political Campaign ◽  
Multimedia Presentations ◽  
Online Newspaper ◽  
Campaign Coverage ◽  
Traditional Roles

Through their Web sites, newspapers may contribute to political campaign coverage in new ways. This survey of online editors of leading U.S. newspaper sites indicates that editors gave primary emphasis to the medium's ability to provide Election 2000 information faster and in more detail. Though options for enhancing political discourse were appreciated, both interactivity and multimedia presentations were less widely cited among key goals and perceived successes. These findings suggest that journalists are “normalizing”w the Internet as a way to further traditional roles and goals.

Exploring the Networks of News Production: Frame Building and Source Use During the 2014 U.S. Midterm Elections

2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 537-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Anne Conway-Silva
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Congressional Elections ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Strategic Game ◽  
News Production ◽  
Frame Building ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
Election Coverage ◽  
Source Use

This study of the 2014 U.S. midterm congressional elections examined whether connections across sources within newspaper coverage predicted framing outcomes. Conceptualized as an aspect of frame building, symbolic source networks within articles were examined using social network analysis and multilevel modeling. Results suggest network density within a given article predicted the likelihood that a source was linked to the strategic game frame and issue frame in election coverage. By nesting sources within networks, this study extends our understanding of frame building and collective sense-making in politics. It also demonstrates the utility of social network concepts and measures for research on news production.

scholarly journals The Macro-Level Driving Factors of Negative Campaigning in Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsófia Papp ◽  
Veronika Patkós
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Multinomial Logit Model ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
Negative Campaigning ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Number Of Parties

Covering the largest sample of countries to date, this study examines the effect of three country-specific factors on the tone of electoral campaigns across Europe: electoral system disproportionality, party system fragmentation, and the polarization of the electorate. We use an original dataset of statements made by political actors during eighteen electoral campaigns in nine European countries. Our multinomial logit model suggests that increasing disproportionality slightly increases negativity, while thanks to parties competing on the same market, less polarized electorates invite more negative political campaigns. Finally, we find a U-shaped relationship between party system fragmentation and negativity: Increasing the number of parties, negativity decreases first, only to start increasing again once the party system becomes very fragmented. We explain this with parties altering their coalition strategies with the changing number of parties: Less fragmentation makes it more likely to having to step into coalition with the competitors, thus decreasing negativity, while in very fragmented systems, parties not needed to any potential coalitions become easy targets to negative campaign.

Examining Citizens’ Impressions of Negativity During U.S. Senate Campaigns

2019 ◽  
pp. 102-126
Author(s):  
Kim L. Fridkin ◽  
Patrick J. Kenney
Keyword(s):  
National Survey ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Transient Phenomenon ◽  
Negative Campaigning ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
Central Elements ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Party Attachment ◽  
Negative Messages ◽  
Senatorial Elections

Chapter 6 presents the results of a national survey experiment conducted during the 2014 senatorial elections that validates central elements of the tolerance and tactics theory of negativity. First, people with low levels of tolerance for negativity are more likely to see incivility in negative messages and view negative messages as less usefulcompared to citizens who tolerate negative campaigning more easily. Second, the importance of tolerance for negativity holds up, even when controlling for important political predispositions, such as party attachment and attitudes about the issues. These findings demonstrate that tolerance for negativity is different from people’s partisan and policy profile. Third, the importance of tolerance for negativity is critical during the throes of the campaign as well as after the campaign has ended and all votes are tallied. These results indicate that tolerance for negativity is not a transient phenomenon active only during electoral campaigns.

Prestige Newspaper Coverage of Foreign Affairs in the 1990 Congressional Campaigns

1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 652-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Wells ◽  
Erika G. King
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Congressional Campaigns ◽  
Extensive Coverage ◽  
Collapse Of Communism ◽  
The Military

This content analysis of four prestige newspapers' coverage of the first post-cold war congressional campaigns examined hypotheses concerning the amount and substance of international and foreign affairs coverage. As expected, although the news and opinion/editorial agenda of all four newspapers consisted of extensive coverage of the major international and foreign affairs stories taking place during the fall campaign period (such as the military build-up in the Gulf and the collapse of communism), coverage of foreign policy issues in the 1990 congressional races was conspicuously absent.

Forecasting Congressional Elections Using Facebook Data

2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (04) ◽  
pp. 579-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. MacWilliams
Keyword(s):  
Congressional Elections ◽  
National Election ◽  
Election Forecasting ◽  
Congressional Campaigns ◽  
Exploratory Investigation ◽  
Reliable Model ◽  
Us Senate

ABSTRACTFacebook constantly tracks the growth of each congressional candidate’s fan base and the number of people engaging with candidates online. These Facebook metrics comprise a rich dataset that theoretically may capture the effectiveness of campaigns in building participatory support as well as their potential to mobilize support. When added to electoral fundamentals similar to those used in national-election forecasting, can Facebook data be used to develop a reliable model for predicting vote-percentage outcomes of individual congressional contests? The results of an exploratory investigation reveal that fan participation and mobilization metrics tracked by Facebook produced surprisingly accurate election predictions in the 2012 US Senate races studied. The question remains, however, whether these results are a “flash in the 2012 pan” or an indication that using Facebook statistics to measure campaign effectiveness is a new tool that scholars can use to forecast the outcome of congressional campaigns.

Mapping Web Interactivity

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 39-55
Author(s):  
Kevin Y Wang ◽  
Hyung Min Lee ◽  
David Atkin ◽  
Cheonsoo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Congressional Elections ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Interactive Communication ◽  
Interactive Tools ◽  
Political Public Relations ◽  
Willingness To Use

This paper explores the use of interactive communication and dialogic relationship building strategies on political campaign Web sites. In contrast to presidential races that often feature substantially more sophisticated campaign Web sites, congressional candidates’ ability and willingness to use the Web as an electioneering tool has varied greatly. The present research sought to address two broad research questions: 1) how candidates from the same electoral districts used their Web sites during the 2006 and 2010 congressional elections; and 2) to what extent could several candidate and district level variables explain the differences in Web utilization. A typology was proposed to examine the first question, while content analysis was performed to collect empirical data that addressed the second question. Results indicate that while the use of interactive Web strategies may be concentrated among candidates with certain characteristics in 2006, the adoption of social media in political campaigns has trickled down from the presidential level, and that interactive tools have become a norm in the 2010 congressional election, with virtually no observable differences emerging among candidates. Theoretical and practical implication for online political public relations is discussed.

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