Presidential candidates television spots and personal qualities

• Autores: William Lyon Benoit
• Localización: Southern communication journal, ISSN 1041-794X, Vol. 68, nº 4 (VERANO), 2002, págs. 319-334
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The functional theory of political campaing discourse (Benoit, 1999)posits that political messages can discuss two topic: policy and character. This essay extends our understanding of presidential candidate character (personality traits) by using grounded theory to develop a typology of four dimensions of personal qualities discussed in political campaing discourse (sincerity, morality, empathy, and drive) and then using computer content analysis to apply that typology to the texts of primary and general presidential spots (1952-2000) to determine the relative frequency of these character traits. Four general dimensions fo character emerged: morality, drive, sincerity, and empathy (listed in descending frequency). Empathy was discussed more and morality less in the primary than the general campaing. Republicans stressed sincerity whereas Democrats emphasized empathy. Winners focused on drive and losers more often discussed empathy and morality. This study advances the theorical undestanding of the discussion of candidates personal qualities in presidential campaigns