Defining the candidates: An analysis of issue, character, and strategy frames in the gubernatorial campaign narrative (North Carolina).

摘要

This qualitative research study examines newspaper coverage of North Carolina's 2004 gubernatorial election from a framing perspective. A narrative analysis of election coverage from four different regions of the state was carried out to determine (1) how the candidates were differentiated from each other in each newspaper, and (2) how issue, character, and strategy frames shaped these news narratives.; The results of the study indicate that North Carolina's gubernatorial candidates were most often differentiated from each other in terms of strategic campaign factors and least often differentiated from each other in terms of their issue stands. Issue frames appeared infrequently in all of the newspapers that were studied. Character frames were closely linked with strategy frames in much of this election coverage; these character frames more often favored the incumbent governor than they did his challenger. It was clear throughout the analysis that both candidates had attempted, with varying degrees of success, to influence the newspapers' respective framings of the campaign.; Contrary to previous findings about the homogeneity of news reporting on national elections, this analysis revealed that there was a great deal of variety among the topics that were covered during North Carolina's gubernatorial campaign. The manner in which each newspaper used the narrative elements of setting and narrator had a decided influence on its campaign coverage. In addition, there were noticeable differences between urban newspapers and rural newspapers in terms of the tone and the quality of their campaign coverage.; Suggestions for future research are made at the end of the study that highlight the need to examine how various sources of information subsidy influence the news media's framing of state level electoral campaigns. It is also recommended that scholars examine whether the amount and the quality of political information declines in rural locations.