The Interaction of Issue and Image Frames on Political Candidate Assessment |
| |
| Authors: | Sean Luechtefeld Adam S Richards |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Communication, University of Maryland in College Park;2. Department of Communication Studies, Texas Christian University |
| |
| Abstract: | This study examined the combined effect of character and policy coverage about a political candidate in news media on voters’ evaluations and thoughts about the candidate. A 2 (issue coverage: present/absent) × 2 (image coverage: present/absent) between-subject factorial experiment was conducted whereby participants (N = 134) read a version of an editorial article that varied in the coverage of a candidate’s character and policy positions. Results indicated that issue and image coverage, each in isolation, enhanced perceptions of the candidate’s image strength and issue strength. However, issue and image coverage when presented in combination compared to in isolation did not enhance perceptions of the candidate and in some cases hindered perceptions of candidate strength. When both coverage types were present, issue coverage dominated image coverage when participants formed image evaluations, whereas image coverage dominated issue coverage when they formed issue evaluations. Similar findings resulted for issue- and image-relevant thoughts. Implications about the effects of multicoverage political messages are discussed. |
| |
| Keywords: | Framing News Media Political Coverage Priming Voter Perceptions |
|
|
