2007-10-28-皮尤-The_Invisible_Primary_-_Invisible_No_Longer_55页_316kb

报告摘要

Analysis Summary: 2008 Presidential Campaign Coverage

Key Findings

Media Focus on "Invisible Primary": Early campaign coverage centered on political tactics, polls, and fundraising, with limited coverage of candidates' policy positions or records (about 63% of stories focused on the campaign "game" vs. less than 20% on policy or past performance).
Tone and Coverage Disparities:
- Democrats received more positive coverage than Republicans (35% vs. 26% positive).
- Conservative talk radio was highly negative across candidates, while newspapers and online sources were less uniformly critical.
- Republicans received more negative and neutral coverage overall.
Public Preferences vs. Media Coverage:
- Most Americans wanted more coverage of candidates' policy positions, personal backgrounds, lesser-known candidates, and debates (e.g., 77% wanted more issue coverage).
Media Structure and Partisanship:
- Coverage was heavily dominated by the top five candidates (Clinton, Obama, Giuliani, McCain, Romney).
- Networks and online sources showed partisan editorial leanings, with Republicans receiving more negative coverage in some media.
- Cable news averaged neutral coverage, while newspapers leaned Democratic and online sources skewed Republican.
Impact and Engagement:
- Most campaign coverage focused on affecting elections rather than governance, limiting voter education.
- Fewer citizens were following the campaign closely compared to later stages.
Changes from Previous Elections: Early start increased media attention, but campaign coverage trends (strategy over issues) remained consistent compared to past cycles.

Conclusions

Media coverage was more campaign-centric and strategic than issue-oriented.
The top-tier Democrat (Clinton or Obama) dominated media attention, while key Republican candidates like Giuliani were sidelined unless crisis arose.
Coverage reflected partisan leanings, affecting deployment of narrative tools.

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