Summary
This study investigates frames used by candidate Web sites in the 2004 presidential election. The analysis focuses on official blog content posted by the George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry Web sites. Content analysis was used to record time, space, tone, and topic attributes used in the blog text during the sixty-four days prior to the election. A comprehensive analysis is offered for the distribution of framing content and mechanisms employed for a total of 1,309 blog postings. The findings indicate notable trends as well as significant differences between candidates and their use of frames.
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Extract
Building Blogs: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of the Distribution of Frames On the 2004 Presidential Candidate Web Sites
The 2004 presidential election campaign involved the interplay of a variety of issues. This election also marked an increase in online communication tactics. Each candidate maintained a Web site featuring campaign information as well as an "official blog" in an effort to keep voters up to date on pertinent topics. Blog content was managed by campaign staff members (sometimes allowing responses, often displaying selected posts or news stories, etc.), providing a glimpse into each candidate's attempt to put his frame on campaign information.
The theoretical premise for framing analysis rests in both sociological and psychological research,1 but the manner of constructing communication text with selective focus is a topic of interest to political communication scholars as well. As Parmalee2 notes, framing research can be enriched by broadening the analysis of frames to include texts offered to consumers by political candidates. Political communication text offers great interest because of the often deliberate construction of information for consumers. The first step toward developing an assessment of framing effects is to identify patterns in communication texts that employ framing techniques. This may allow for a more consistent examination of framing categories leading to replicable analyses of framing tactics.It is the purpose of this study to investigate the construction of frames used by candidates in the 2004 presidential election. This research proposes the use of a four-dimensional methodological approach. The analysis of framin...See the full content of this document
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