Campaigning on the Internet: 2008 Presidential General Election Candidate Webpage
The Internet is becoming an increasingly important component of political campaigns. This study employed content analysis to apply Functional Theory and Issue Ownership Theory to Obama’s and McCain’s presidential candidate webpages in the 2008 campaign. Acclaims (92%) were more common than attacks (...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ludovika University Press
2016-12-01
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| Series: | KOME: An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://komejournal.com/files/KOME_WB%202008.pdf |
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| Summary: | The Internet is becoming an increasingly important component of political campaigns. This study employed content analysis to apply Functional Theory and Issue Ownership Theory to Obama’s and McCain’s presidential candidate webpages in the 2008 campaign. Acclaims (92%) were more common than attacks (98%); defenses did not occur in this sample. Policy (82%) was addressed more than character (18%). When discussing policy, these candidates addressed future plans most frequently, followed by general goals and then past deeds; on character, candidates discussed ideals, then personal qualities, and then leadership ability. This study shows that as candidates use the Internet to reach voters, their webpages conform to theoretical expectations. |
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| ISSN: | 2063-7330 2063-7330 |