The Functional Theory of Political Campaign Communication

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Benoit
Keyword(s):  
News Coverage ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Political Campaign ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Campaign Messages ◽  
Campaign Communication ◽  
Attacks And Defenses

This chapter begins by arguing for the importance of election campaigns. Next, it describes the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse. Assumptions, key concepts, and predictions are discussed. The chapter then summarizes the research that has applied this theory to a wide variety of election campaign messages: US president (primary and general), non-presidential (Senate, House, gubernatorial, mayoral), non-US TV spots and debates, and news coverage of election campaigns. The three functions – acclaims, attacks, and defenses – and the two topics – policy and character – are discussed. The chapter discusses effects of campaign phase and incumbency on candidate messages. Finally, this chapter addresses limitations of this theory and directions for future research.

scholarly journals Are microtargeted campaign messages more negative and diverse? An analysis of Facebook Ads in European election campaigns

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto López Ortega
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Negative Campaigning ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Campaign Messages ◽  
European Election

AbstractConcerns about the use of online political microtargeting (OPM) by campaigners have arisen since the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit the international political arena. In addition to providing conceptual clarity on OPM and explore the use of such techniques in Europe, this paper seeks to empirically disentangle the differing behaviours of campaigners when they message citizens through microtargeted rather than non-targeted campaigning. More precisely, I hypothesise that campaigners use negative campaigning and are more diverse in terms of topics when they use OPM. To investigate whether these expectations hold true, I use text-as-data techniques to analyse an original dataset of 4,091 political Facebook Ads during the last national elections in Austria, Italy, Germany and Sweden. Results show that while microtargeted ads might indeed be more thematically diverse, there does not seem to be a significant difference to non-microtargeted ads in terms of negativity. In conclusion, I discuss the implications of these findings for microtargeted campaigns and how future research could be conducted.

scholarly journals Are microtargeted campaign messages more negative and diverse? An analysis of Facebook ads in European election campaigns

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto López Ortega
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Negative Campaigning ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Campaign Messages ◽  
European Election

Concerns about the use of online political microtargeting (OPM) by campaigners have arisen since Cambridge Analytica scandal hit the international political arena. In addition to providing conceptual clarity on OPM and explore the use of such technique in Europe, this paper seeks to empirically disentangle the differing behavior of campaigners when they message citizens through microtargeted rather than non-targeted campaigning. More precisely, I hypothesize that campaigners use negative campaigning and are more diverse in terms of topics when they use OPM. To investigate whether these expectations hold true, I use text-as-data techniques to analyze an original dataset of 4,091 political Facebook Ads during the last national elections in Austria, Italy, Germany and Sweden. Results show that while microtargeted ads might indeed be more thematically diverse, there does not seem to be a significant difference to non-microtargeted ads in terms of negativity. In conclusion, I discuss the implications of these findings for microtargeted campaigns and how future research could be conducted.

The Internet in Campaigns and Elections

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren G. Lilleker ◽  
Theirry Vedel
Keyword(s):  
Barack Obama ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Moving Target ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Political Campaign ◽  
Campaigns And Elections ◽  
Campaign Communication ◽  
The Impact

This chapter evaluates a number of positive claims surrounding the role of the Internet in campaigns and elections. It is observed that the Internet is becoming embedded within campaigns and elections. Capturing the influence of any campaign, or isolating the impact of any specific tool or aspect of a campaign, is at best a highly complex moving target. The hypermedia campaign must allow for and expect the ‘decomposition and recomposition of messages’. The chapter recognises that, to be successful, one must both produce and join the communication ecosystem. Investigating the campaigns of Howard Dean, Segolene Royal, and Barack Obama can help explain the evolution in adaptation to such campaigns. Engagement with election campaigns is being determined by the Internet. In general, the political campaign communication has been transformed, but only to an extent.

Everybody Follows the Crowd?

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Obermaier ◽  
Thomas Koch ◽  
Christian Baden
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Bandwagon Effect ◽  
Political News ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Opinion Polls ◽  
Electoral Preferences

Abstract. Opinion polls are a well-established part of political news coverage, especially during election campaigns. At the same time, there has been controversial debate over the possible influences of such polls on voters’ electoral choices. The most prominent influence discussed is the bandwagon effect: It states that voters tend to support the expected winner of an upcoming election, and use polls to determine who the likely winner will be. This study investigated the mechanisms underlying the effect. In addition, we inquired into the role of past electoral performances of a candidate and analyzed how these (as well as polls) are used as heuristic cues for the assessment of a candidate’s personal characteristics. Using an experimental design, we found that both polls and past election results influence participants’ expectations regarding which candidate will succeed. Moreover, higher competence was attributed to a candidate, if recipients believe that the majority of voters favor that candidate. Through this attribution of competence, both information about prior elections and current polls shaped voters’ electoral preferences.

Just Like Leaves in the Wind? Exploring the Effect of the Interplay of Media Coverage and Personal Characteristics on Issue Salience

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agatha Kratz ◽  
Harald Schoen
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Issue Salience ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Impact

This chapter explores the effect of the interplay of personal characteristics and news coverage on issue salience during the 2009 to 2015 period and during the election campaign in 2013. We selected four topics that played a considerable role during this period: the labor market, pensions and healthcare, immigration, and the financial crisis. The evidence from pooled cross-sectional data and panel data supports the notion that news coverage affects citizens’ issue salience. For obtrusive issues, news coverage does not play as large a role as for rather remote topics like the financial crisis and immigration. The results also lend credence to the idea that political predilections and other individual differences are related to issue salience and constrain the impact of news coverage on voters’ issue salience. However, the evidence for the interplay of individual differences and media coverage proved mild at best.

Which kind of political campaign messages do people perceive as election pledges?

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 121-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia C. Dupont ◽  
Evelyn Bytzek ◽  
Melanie C. Steffens ◽  
Frank M. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Political Campaign ◽  
Campaign Messages

Emotion in music performance

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik N. Juslin
Keyword(s):  
Music Performance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Expert Performance ◽  
Musical Style ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Technical Mastery

There are several features that we have come to expect from an expert performance: technical mastery, confidence, originality, flexibility, and a true understanding of the musical style. Yet the feature that both performers and listeners appear to regard as the most important is that the performer is expressive. The most-loved artists are commonly the ones that are able to express and evoke emotions in listeners. Previous studies have mainly concerned how performers express emotions, and this article focuses on this question. The article first provides working definitions of key concepts (e.g. expression, communication), and considers how performers conceive of these issues. It then reviews up-to-date evidence on how performers express emotions. Finally, the article proposes directions for future research.

Issue Emergence, Evolution of Controversy, and Implications for Competitive Framing

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Franklin Fowler ◽  
Sarah E. Gollust ◽  
Amanda F. Dempsey ◽  
Paula M. Lantz ◽  
Peter A. Ubel
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Process ◽  
Hpv Vaccine ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Local Newspapers ◽  
The Media ◽  
External Events ◽  
Insight Into

Although scholarship on competitive framing acknowledges that framing is a dynamic process in which the early stages may matter most, very little research has focused on the dynamics of issue emergence. In this article, we draw on several literatures to develop theories for how controversy related to new issues will emerge and expand in news coverage. Through a comprehensive content analysis of 101 local newspapers across the fifty U.S. states, we explore the dynamic and evolving process wherein a new issue—the HPV vaccine—emerged into public discourse and a legislative debate over school requirements for vaccination began. We find that coverage of controversy is a function of proximity, driven primarily by events within a state, although external events also influence local coverage. We also find that the legislative discussion in the media did not necessarily start out as controversial, but as the issue evolved, we observe a large increase in the proliferation of both actors taking positions and the types of arguments made to influence debate. The findings yield important insight into issue emergence with implications for how future research might test competing frames to better understand how the presentation of controversy in the mass media affects public opinion.

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