2012-08-22-皮尤-The_Master_Character_Narratives_in_Campaign_2012_34页_472kb

2012 Presidential Campaign Media Analysis

Key Findings

Campaign Narrative Dominance

• Overall Negativity:

  • 72% of media narratives about Obama were negative, while 71% of Romney’s coverage was negative.
  • The most negative campaign on record since 2000, comparable to the polarized 2004 race.

• Economic Record Focus:

  • For Obama: 36% of narratives criticized his failure to fix the economy; counter-arguments (16%) defended his actions.
  • For Romney: Key themes included accusations of being a "vulture capitalist" (14%), an elitist (13%), and an awkward campaigner (11%).

Media Dynamics Shift

• Campaign Influence:
  • Campaigns and allies now account for ~50% of narratives (up from 37% in 2000), while journalists’ share dropped from 50% to 27%.
  • Online coverage is dominated by campaigns (58% of sources), with fewer expert voices compared to traditional media.

Voter Perception vs. Media Narrative

• Negativity Gap:
  • Voters viewed Obama more favorably on traits like moral character (38%) and leadership experience (42%) compared to Romney (26% and 31%).
  • Voters resonated most with narratives about Romney’s elitism (47%) and gaffe-proneness (25% linked to debates).
• Discrepancy: Despite media negativity, voters saw Obama as better on morals and experience.

Media Outlets’ Bias

• Partisan Cable TV:
  • Fox News (56% negative for Obama, 44% for Romney).
  • MSNBC (88% negative for Romney, 54% for Obama).
  • Conservative/progressive talk shows skewed coverage heavily toward attacking opponents.
• Traditional Media: Newspapers (66% negative for both), network news (58% negative for Obama, 71% for Romney).

Notable Omissions

• Romney: Limited coverage of his Mormonism, moderate leanings, or national security positions.
• Obama: Underrepresentation of positive themes like bipartisanship or personal likeability.

Conclusion

The 2012 campaign featured highly negative media narratives, a shrinking role of journalists, and growing influence of campaigns and allies—changes accelerating partisanship’s impact on elections. Voter reactions, however, showed some decoupling from media portrayals.