Examines turnout of registered voters in a special vote-by-mail U.S. Senate election in which the Democratic candidate (Ron Wyden) pledged to stop using attack ads, and the Republican candidate (Gordon Smith) did not. Finds that only Republicans' participation fell, while Republicans, Independents, and Democrats who felt Wyden had lived up to his…

Examines the influence of soft-money-sponsored issue-advocacy advertising in U.S. House and Senate campaigns, comparing its effects against candidate-sponsored positive advertising and contrast advertising on viewers' candidate preferences and on their attitude that reflect democratic values. Reveals no main effects for advertising approach on…

Presents a critical review of academic work on negativity in political advertising that shows that the concept has been defined in ways that are too broad, insufficiently holistic, and too pejorative. Suggests exploratory data indicate that the component parts of negativity are: misleading claims, emotional appeals, one-sided attacks, and a…

Examines how news frames in campaign coverage affect an individual's interpretation of campaigns. Conceptualizes framing effects in terms of a construction of a mental model and emphasizes how news interpretation is influenced by news texts and by interpreter's social knowledge. Explores message structures of the strategy and issue frames, and…

Analyzes 830 television spots from 8 presidential campaigns. Shows that the "negativism" charged to the 1988 campaign is actually at the same level as the two previous campaigns. Finds that what tends to differentiate negative from positive ads is not party or incumbency but a more frequent appeal to voters' fears. (PRA)

Examines intended and unintended effects of print comparative political advertising on political decision making, voting preferences, and situational election involvement among a sample of communication and business undergraduate students. Suggests that comparative advertising reduces targeted-candidate voting preferences while avoiding most forms…

Studies the value of television commercials and political debates as sources of information about candidates. Reports that respondents who viewed both kinds of messages state that advertisements provide more information on issue positions. Concludes that debates are more effective in improving candidate name recognition and knowledge of party…

Analyzes the commentary on the 1984 U.S. vice-presidential debate between G. Ferraro and G. Bush. Suggests that verbal references to the quantity and quality of emotion differed according to whether or not the observer politically favored the candidate. (NKA)