Image as a transaction between what candidates say and do and the way voters compare that behavior with their personal vision of what candidates should be or do stimulates at least three critical questions important to political communication. First, although the ability or power of the media to affect the success or failure of candidates and campaigns is believed by many citizens and documented by research, do views of individual members of the media regarding ideal qualities presidential candidates should possess differ significantly from those of voters? Second, do characteristics or attributes of the “ideal” presidential candidate, as affixed by the media and the electorate, vary from election to election? Finally, do the evaluative dimensions of “idealness” differ in relationship to gender, age, or party affiliation? Answers are determined from results of a survey of journalists covering and citizens attending political rallies in New Hampshire during the 1988 to 2004 presidential primaries.
Alsina, C., Davies, P. J., & Gronbeck, B. E. (2001). Preference poll stories in the last 2 weeks of campaign 2000: Uses of the massed opinions of numbered citizens. American Behavioral Scientist, 44, 2288-2305.
2.
Atwood, L. E., & Jarvis, D. (1976, April). Media use, candidate image, and voting: A test of “new politics” emphasis on television. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Portland, OR.
3.
Benoit, W. L., & McHale, J. P. (2003). Presidential candidates’ television spots and personal qualities. Southern Communication Journal, 68, 319-334.
4.
Boyer, P. J. (2003, November 17). General Clark’s battles. The New Yorker, 79(35), 70-88.
5.
Broder, D. S. (2003, March 3-9). Gephardt afresh. The Washington Post National Weekly Edition, p. 3.
6.
Carpini, D., & Fuchs, E. R. (1993). The year of the woman? Candidates, voters, and the 1992elections. Political Science Quarterly, 108, 29-37.
7.
Coffey, P. J. (1975). Quantitative measures of bias in reporting of political news. Journalism Quarterly, 52, 551-553.
8.
Czepiec, H. (1976). The impact of television news and party identification on candidate image adoption. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, Columbus.
9.
Day of the Democrats is here. (2004, January 27). Union Leader, p.1.
10.
Edsall, T. B. (1996, April 22-28). A one-sided gender gap: An Emily’s list poll finds women leaning toward Clinton and the Democrats. The Washington Post Weekly Edition, p. 14.
11.
Eilperin, J. (2003, June 30-July 13). Optimistic despite it all. The Washington Post National Weekly Edition, p. 7.
12.
Graber, D. (1971). Press coverage patterns of campaign news: The 1968 presidential race. Journalism Quarterly, 48, 502-512.
13.
Hahn, D. F. (2003). Political communication: Rhetoric, government, and citizens. State College, PA: Strata.
14.
Hofstetter, C. R., Zukin, C., & Buss, T. (1978). Political imagery and information in age of television. Journalism Quarterly, 55, 562-569.
15.
Jamieson, K. H. (2000). Everything you think you know about politics... and why you’re wrong. New York: Basic Books.
16.
Kendall, K. E. (2000). Communication in the presidential primaries. Westport, CT: Praeger.
17.
Kepplinger, H. M. (1982). Visual bias in television campaign coverage. Communications Research, 9, 432-446.
18.
Kern, M. (2001). Disadvantage Al Gore in election 2000: Coverage of issue and candidate attributes, including the candidate as campaigner, on newspaper and television news websites. American Behavioral Scientist, 44, 2125-2139.
19.
Klein, J. (2004, February 9). Why Bush isn’t a shoo-in. Time, 163(6), 23.
20.
Lawrence, J. (2004, January 22). Dean plans return to “who I really am.”USA Today, p. 1.
21.
Lemann, N. (2002, May 6). The newcomer: Senator John Edwards is this season’s Democratic rising star. The New Yorker, 78(10), 62.
22.
Lester, W. (2004, January 29). Exit polls indicate Bush trouble spots. Cincinnati Enquirer, p. A4.
23.
Lichter, R. S., & Rothman, S. (1981). Media and business elites. Public Opinion, 4, 42-60.
24.
Louden, A. D. (1990). Image construction in political spot advertising: The Hunt/Helms Senate campaign. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California.
25.
Masters, R. D., Sullivan, D. G., Feola, A., & McHugo, G. (1987). Television coverage of candidates’ display behavior during the 1984 Democratic primaries in the United States. International Political Science Review, 8, 121-130.
26.
Miller, A. H., Wattenberg, M. P., & Malanchuk, O. (1986). Schematic assessments of presidential candidates. American Political Science Review, 80, 521-540.
27.
Moriarty, S. E., & Garramone, G. M. (1986). A study of news magazine photographs of the 1984 presidential campaign. Journalism Quarterly, 63, 728-734.
28.
Pike, G. R. (1985, May). Toward a transactional model of political images: Collective images of the candidates of the 1984 election. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Honolulu, HI.
29.
Robinson, M., & Sheehan, M. (1983). Over the wire and on TV: CBS and UPI in campaign ’80. New York: Russell Sage.
30.
Sanders, K. R., & Pace, T. J. (1977). The influence of speech communication on the image of a political candidate: “Limited effects” revised. Communication Yearbook, 1, 465-474.
31.
Stempel, G. H. (1961). The prestige press in two presidential campaigns. Journalism Quarterly, 38, 157-163.
32.
Stempel, G. H. (1965). The prestige press in two presidential elections. Journalism Quarterly, 42, 15-21.
33.
Stempel, G. H. (1969). The prestige press meets the third-party challenge. Journalism Quarterly, 46, 699-702.
34.
Trent, J. S., & Friedenberg, R. V. (2004). Political campaign communication. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
35.
Trent, J. S., Mongeau, P. A., Trent, J. D, Kendall, K. E., & Cushing, R. B. (1993). The ideal candidate. American Behavioral Scientist, 37, 225-239.
36.
Trent, J. S., Short-Thompson, C., Mongeau, P. A., Nusz, A. K., & Trent, J. D. (2001). Image, media bias, and voter characteristics. American Behavioral Scientist, 44, 2101-2124.
37.
Trent, J. S., Trent, J. D, Mongeau, P. A., & Short-Thompson, C. (1997). The ideal candidate revisited. American Behavioral Scientist, 40, 1001-1019.
38.
Untruth and consequences. (2003, August 11). Time, 162(3), 13.
39.
VandeHei, J. (2004, April 21). Old-school team to sell Kerry as modern centrist. The Washington Post, p. A1.
40.
Weaver, D. H., & Wilhoit, G. C. (1992, Fall). Journalists—Who are they really?Media Studies Journal, 6, 63-79.
