Does the Media Portray Liberal Female Candidates for President Differently than Conservative Female Candidates? A Content Analysis of Newspaper Media from Elizabeth Dole and Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaigns.
Open Access
Author:
Frasco, Julie Rae
Area of Honors:
Political Science
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Lee Ann Banaszak, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Lee Ann Banaszak, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Gretchen G Casper, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
media portrayal female candidates content analysis presidential office of the united states
Abstract:
Abstract
Scholars studying political science and gender have proven that the media portrays female candidates running for office differently by examining the content of media during political races between men and women. The research indicates that these differences can be explained by gender stereotyping in reporting and expectations for women to take liberal stances on issues. Most often women are portrayed as the underdog and the public focus moves to their appearance and family more than their positions on issues. However, little research has been conducted on the effects that partisanship has on the media portrayal of candidates in campaigns for President. The goal of this study is to determine if there is a difference in the media portrayal of two past female presidential candidates- one Republican and one Democrat. Would it be that the conservative candidate will be portrayed less favorably because their orientation towards issues and character traits are contradictory to what the media and public expects of a traditional female candidate? In order to find answers to these pertinent questions, data is collected through coding national newspaper articles on two recent Presidential campaigns, Elizabeth Dole and Hillary Clinton. During coding the researcher looks for mentions of specific character attributions and issue coverage. Results show that there is a difference in the framing of these two candidates in certain character attributions and issue coverage but overall, Hillary Clinton was portrayed less favorably than Elizabeth Dole. More often Clinton, the liberal candidate, was portrayed more negatively in relation to character attributions, but received more issue coverage on Republican “owned” issues.
