A content analysis of the democratic race for 1984 presidential nomination in nine selected Indiana newspapers

• Main Author: Kurz, Kathleen Ann
• Other Authors: Popovich, Mark N.
• Format: Others
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: American newspapers > Indiana.; Presidential candidates > United States.; Press and politics > Indiana.
• Online Access: http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/handle/183136; http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/421947

This thesis is a content analysis designed to determine whether Democratic presidential candidates Gary Hart, Walter Mondale, and Jesse Jackson received equal coverage in nine selected Indiana newspapers during the month prior to the state primary in 1984. The researcher expected the candidates would receive equal coverage in Democratic, Republican, and Independent newspapers based on the findings of previous similar studies. The study was conducted using three content analysis techniques--space measurement, headline value classification, and evaluative assertion analysis. Nine papers, three from each political group, were selected at random for the study. The data collected was comprised only of news stories. In assessing whether the three candidates received equal coverage, each story relating to one or more of these men was measured using a basic space unit measurement. The amount of space received by the individual candidates in each newspaper group was converted to percentages and chi-square goodness of fit and contingency table tests were applied. Separate totals were maintained throughout for stories about individual candidates and summary stories that were about all three. Headlines concerning each candidate were accorded points based on size and placement. The resulting totals also were subjected to chi-square analysis.The evaluative assertion analysis was. conducted only on news stories that were locally generated. Two sets of coders transcribed assertions and analyzed each for the following: attitude expressed (positive or negative); strength of verbs; and associative or disassociative nature of verbs.The study showed that while the candidates were treated highly similarly by newspapers in the three groups--Hart received the highest percentage of coverage and Jackson the lowest in each case--they were not treated equally. In the individual news stories, Jackson was given significantly less coverage than the others, except in the case of Republican papers in which there was no difference. The headlines followed the same pattern. In the summary stories, there was no significant difference in the coverage received by the three, but for the headlines, Jackson again received significantly less exposure. This was most evident in the Democratic papers. These findings strongly indicate that there was bias in the nine papers in favor of Hart and Mondale and against Jackson.In the evaluative assertion analysis, the coded results all fell into a single category--most of the verbs used were strong and associative and most of the attitudes expressed were positive. This may be more indicative of the writing styles of reporters than of an editorial preference being evidenced by the newspapers.