THE PRESS AND CANDIDATE IMAGES
- 1 July 1989
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in International Journal of Public Opinion Research
- Vol. 1 (2) , 123-135
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/1.2.123
Abstract
An examination of the news images of US presidential candidates suggests that journalists portray candidates in ways consistent with their position in the race. Strong candidates were generally given strong news images and weak candidates were saddled with weak images. Significantly, this pattern held also for the same candidate if his position in the race changed. In 1988 Bush's news image went from weak to strong when he surged ahead in the polls during the general election. Such news images appear to affect voters' images of the candidates: to some degree, voters accept journalists' portrayals of the candidates.Keywords
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