Examines whether news media were biased in coverage of the candidates during the 1996 United States Presidential campaign, and whether the quantity of positive and negative news coverage of the candidates was related to the public's preference. Finds balanced media coverage of the two principle candidates (Clinton and Dole) and a powerful…

Contributes to research on political communication by examining how 1996 GOP presidential candidates framed themselves in press releases and how elite newspapers covered them. Shows that candidate images were distinct in press releases and news stories; candidate positions were represented differently in both; and candidates were differentially…

Examines predictive patterns of traditional and nontraditional media forms on people's campaign interest and participation, information processing strategies, knowledge of candidates' positions, perceived votes for candidates, and issue salience. Finds nontraditional media had greatest impact on labile characteristics and weakest impact on…

Examines coverage in three leading newspapers, finding that explicit assessments of the 1992 presidential candidates' character were present in seven percent of all news articles and one-third of op-ed items, with the vast majority unfavorable. Shows that Bill Clinton was consistently assessed as a "slippery obfuscator," George Bush as…

Contributes to research regarding the impact of news media on presidential elections. Performs a content analysis of photographs of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole in five major newspapers. Rejects the conclusions of "liberal bias" in the press coverage of presidential campaigns, arguing instead for the presence of a strategic bias benefitting…