Workingversionofprojecttitle

PowerofthePress?
Analyzingtheimpactofthenewsmediaonthe2014GubernatorialElection

Rationale:
Atthecourseselectionassemblylastyear,Irememberscribbling"themedia'seffecton
elections"onastickynote.Thisisaprojectthatistheperfectmarriageofmyintendedmajors
(politicalscienceandmediastudies/communication)Ithinkthatthisprojectwillputmeina
reallygoodplaceforcollege,anditissomethingthatIampassionateabout.

ResearchProposalFINALdraft

1.

Statetheessentialquestion

Howdoesthenewsmediapresentcandidatesandpoliticalissues,andwhateffect
doesmediacoveragehaveonvoters?

2.

Statetheprimaryresearchquestion

HowdidtheBostonprintmediacoverthe2014gubernatorialelection,andwhateffect
doesmediacoveragehaveonvoters?

3.

Statethesecondaryresearchquestionsyouhave(makesurethesearefairly
comprehensiveandextensive).

Howoftenwasthegubernatorialelectionreportedon?
Weretheremorearticles/moreindepthcoverageoftheelectionintheSundaypaper(the
mostwidelyread)?
Howisthecoverageofthegubernatorialelectiondecidedupon?

Whatistheaverageturnaroundtimeonanelectionarticle?
Whateffectdoesthenewsmediahaveonvoters?
HowoftendidtheGlobetweetabouttheelection,andwhatwastheresponse?
Whatisthereadership(preferablybrokendownbydemographics)?
Howarecampaignendorsementsdecidedupon?
Howmuchofanimpactdoesamediaendorsementhaveonvoters?(Potentiallyseenthrough
pollingresults)
Whatisthepercentageofpositive,negative,andneutralpiecesoneachcandidate?Didthat
haveanymeasurableeffect?
Howdoyou(I?)qualityandarticleaspositive,negative,orneutral?
Whicharticlesontheelectionarethestrongest(havethemostimpact)?(Thismaybean
opinionquestioninaninterview,orsomethingImaybereflectuponeafter,butthereare
alwayssomearticlesineachelectionthatstandoutforsomereasons.Iwouldliketotryand
identifythosearticlesforthiselection...iftheyexist)
Howoftenispathos,ethos,andlogosusedwhilereportingontheelection?Whichwasthe
mosteffective?
Howoftenarethe"issues"mentioned/covered?
Isthepressaneffectiveagentofpoliticalideology?
Howoftendoesthenewsmediadepicttheelectionasa"horserace"(articlesthatrelyheavily
uponwhoisupinthepolls)
Isanewsmedia'sTwitterplatformrunbyreportersoranoutsidePRfirm?
Howmuchaccessdoreportersgettocandidates?
Doesthetoneofcampaigncoveragechangeovertime?
Whichissuesarementioned/reportedonthemost?
Whichissuesarehardlyevermentioned?
Whodojournalistsinterviewwhilewritinganarticle,andwhy?
Interviewquestion:Isanelectionadifficultthingtocoverasajournalist?Whichaspectsofit
arechallenging?Whatmakesitchallenging?
Isthisinformationweneedinthevotingbooth?
Isthisthebestpossibleformoftheargument?
Isthestoryinhistoricalcontext?
HowdidthedeathofMayorMeninoimpacttheelection?(wasvoterturnoutinBoston,
especiallyamongDemocrats,higherorlower?)
HowdideachcampaignandcandidaterespondtothedeathofMayorMenino?
4.

Descriptionofwhatthefinalproductwilllooklike.

Wk Weekof
#

WhatIamplanningtoaccomplishduringthatweek

Readsourcematerial,andlookforstrongpointsthatIcouldtrackover
thecourseoftheelectioncoverage
Developastrongerfoundationincampaigns,newsmedia,andelections

11/3/14

11/10/14

Continuetoreadsourcematerialandfindtrackingpoints
Begintogetandconductinterviewswithreportersonelectioncoverage
IntheinterviewsIwillbelookingfortheirtakeonmediacoverageof
theelection(whatwasstrong,whatwasweak,whichstoriesdoyouthink
madethebiggestimpact)
find/createafocusgroupforresearchusingNGPVAN

11/17/14

begintoanalyzearticles(usingtheformatIhavedescribedinpart9)
fromweekof9/9andthenanalyzethepollingquestionsandrelatetothe
dataforthatweek
potentiallychoosewhatIfeltwasthestrongestarticlefromthatweek

11/24/14
(Thanksgiv
ingweek)

begintoanalyzearticles(usingtheformatIhavedescribedinpart9)
fromweekof9/16andthenanalyzethepollingquestionsandrelateto
thedataforthatweek
potentiallychoosewhatIfeltwasthestrongestarticlefromthatweek

12/1/14

begintoanalyzearticles(usingtheformatIhavedescribedinpart9)
fromweekof9/23?andthenanalyzethepollingquestionsandrelateto
thedataforthatweek
potentiallychoosewhatIfeltwasthestrongestarticlefromthatweek

12/8/14

begintoanalyzearticles(usingtheformatIhavedescribedinpart9)
fromweekof9/30andthenanalyzethepollingquestionsandrelatetothe
dataforthatweek
potentiallychoosewhatIfeltwasthestrongestarticlefromthatweek

12/15/14

begintoanalyzearticles(usingtheformatIhavedescribedinpart9)
fromweekof10/6andthenanalyzethepollingquestionsandrelateto
thedataforthatweek
potentiallychoosewhatIfeltwasthestrongestarticlefromthatweek

12/22/14
Decbreak

begintoanalyzearticles(usingtheformatIhavedescribedinpart9)
fromweekof10/13andthenanalyzethepollingquestionsandrelateto
thedataforthatweek
potentiallychoosewhatIfeltwasthestrongestarticlefromthatweek

12/29/14
Decbreak

begintoanalyzearticles(usingtheformatIhavedescribedinpart9)
fromweekof10/20andthenanalyzethepollingquestionsandrelateto

thedataforthatweek
potentiallychoosewhatIfeltwasthestrongestarticlefromthatweek

10

1/5/15

begintoanalyzearticles(usingtheformatIhavedescribedinpart9)
fromweekof10/27andthenanalyzethepollingquestionsandrelateto
thedataforthatweek
potentiallychoosewhatIfeltwasthestrongestarticlefromthatweek

11

1/12/15

begintoanalyzearticles(usingtheformatIhavedescribedinpart9)
fromweekof11/30andthenanalyzethepollingquestionsandrelateto
thedataforthatweek
potentiallychoosewhatIfeltwasthestrongestarticlefromthatweek

12

1/19/15

compilethestrongest/mostinfluentialarticlesfromeachweekandlook
forcorrelationsandtrends
interviewreporters(ifwhatIhadfromNovemberisinsufficient)
interviewapollingexpertfrommaybeSocialSphere(**Iamgoingto
WBURontaponthursdaytolearnmoreaboutpolling,soIwillrevisit
this)

13

1/26/15

createwebsite(usingweebly
createadatabaseorsomewherethaticanparkallthearticlesthatIused

14

2/2/15

turnmydataintoaccessibleinfographicswhichcouldpotentiallybe
interactiveonmywebsite

15

2/9/15

createa(maybeinteractive)timelineoftheelectionandmaybeusethat
asthemainpageofmywebsite

16

2/16/15
Febbreak

17

2/23/15

soatthispointIwillbedonewithanalyzingdatafromtheelection,and
hopefullyIwillbeabletoprojectmyfindingingsontofutureelectionsto
makethemrelevant

18

3/2/15

soatthispointIwillbedonewithanalyzingdatafromtheelection,and
hopefullyIwillbeabletoprojectmyfindingingsontofutureelectionsto
makethemrelevant

19

3/9/15

createapageonmywebsiteforprojectionsontofutureelections

20

3/16/15

createabiographiespageforeveryonewhoIinterviewontherecord

(reportersandsuch)toaddcredibility
21

3/23/15

finishwebsite

23

3/30/15

DEADLINEFORFINALPROJECT
term3endson4/2/15

5.

Statehowthisresearchwilladvancethefrontiersofknowledgeand/ormatter
andbesignificantinameaningfulway.

Iwanttobeabletoexaminehowmuchweightnewsmediahasinanelection.Votersare
becomingincreasinglylessinvolvedinelections(otherthanpresidential)andthepolitical
process,whileatthesametimebecomingmorefrustratedwithhowtheirgovernment
functionsthisthenleadingtomorevoterapathy.

FormyprojectIwouldliketoexaminewhatrolethenewsmediaplaysinthisissue.Iwould
likemyaudiencetobecomemoreawareofhowandwhytheyvoteandwheretheygettheir
informationfrom.Isthenewsmediaareliablesourceofinformationforelections?Forthe
mostpart,Ithinkthatvotersviewthenewsmediaasplayingapassiveroleinelections,
simplyreportingonwhatishappening,asopposedtoplayinganactiveroleinforming
opinions.

6.

Stateanticipatedpotentialpitfallsorproblemsofthisresearcheffort

ThesheeramountofinformationanddatathatIwillbeanalyzingisabitoverwhelming,but
mygoalistofocusmyprojectenoughsothatIdonotgetoverwhelmed.

Findingnocorrelationorrelationship.

Makingthisprojectaccessibletomyaudience

Ihavenotonlyalotofdata,butalsoalotofsecondaryresourcesthatIwillneedtouse
efficiently

7.

Stateyouratentativeplantolocateandreviewtheliteraturerelatedtoyour
project.Thisincludesprinted/publishedsourcesandonlinesources.[The
researchstrategy,part#1]

Iampullingeveryarticlefromtheprimaryuntilelectionday,andanalyzingthem.However,
beforeIbeginanalyzingarticles,Iwillneedtostrengthenmyfoundationinpoliticalscience

andcommunications.Iwillbelookingatstudiesontherelationshipbetweenmediaand
electionsthatarealreadyinexistence(Yalehasaverystrongdatabaseforthis).Iwillalsobe
readingsomebooksoncampaignstrategiesandelections.Forexample,VictoryLab,hasbeen
highlyrecommendedbypeopleinthefield.So,Iseethatsourceasastrongjumpingoffpoint
formyresearch.MysecondarysourceswillhelpmeunderstandwhatIshouldbelookingfor
asIgetintomyresearch.

8.

Stateatentativeplanforresearchanddatacollection.(Datacollectioncantake
multipleformssurveys,testgroups,interviews,observations,etcetc.Thiswill
differfromprojecttoproject.[Theresearchstrategy,part#2]

Lookattrendsweekbyweekinmediacoverageandhowitrelatestopollingquestionssuch
as:
Ifthegeneralelectionforgovernorwereheldtoday,forwhomwouldyouvote?
Caresaboutpeoplelikeme.
Willensurethatwehavehighqualityaffordablehealthcare
Willcreatejobsandimprovetheeconomy
Willmanagethestategovernmenteffectively
Iwillbeinterviewingreportersonwhytheydecidedtotakespecificanglesoncertainarticles,
Iwillalsobeseeingwhatimpacttheythinktheirnewssourcehasonelections.
ImaybeusingNGPVAN(thevoterregistrydatabase)todevelopafocusgroupandseetheir
individualthoughtsonhowthenewsmediainfluencedthemandhowtheymadetheir
decisions(howmuchoftheirdecisionwasbasedonwhattheyreadinthenewspaper)

9.

Stateatentativeplanforresearchanddataanalysisandinterpretation.[The
researchstrategy,part#3]

ExampleArticle:Bakerleapstoaleadof9pointsintheGlobepoll
TheBostonGlobeOctober24,2014
ByJimOSullivan
Focus:pollingresults
Tone(negative,positive,neutral):neutral(positiveforBaker,butnegativeforCoakely
reflectingpollingdata)
Examples:pollingdataof500likelyvotersfromOctober19October22
Interviews(whoisisandtoneofquote):
pollsterremarksonmomentum
Logos:pollingdata
Bakerhasoffsetthedeficitshefacedonissuessuchaseducationandhealthcare
Pathos:n/a

Ethos:statementfromchiefexecutiveofSocialSphereInc.
Isthisinformationwe(voters)needinthevotingbooth?:no
WordChoice(specificallylookingatthedifferenceinwordchoicetodescribethe
differentcandidates):

Baker

Coakley

opened
improved
stronger
gains
growth
pickedupmomentum
create

stillholds
dropped
led

So,myplanistoevaluateeacharticle,likeIdidfortheexampleaboveinordertobeable
toevaluateeacharticleandlookfortrends.AsIgetintomyresearch,Iwillverylikely
alter(slightly)whatIamlookingforineacharticle.

AndthenIimaginesomesortofinfographic,whichmaynotbepossibleinreallife,butit
wouldbeagraphandthexaxiswouldbeeachweekfromtheprimaryuntilthe
election.Thetheyaxiswouldbethenumberofarticles.SoIcouldcreatethatvisual.
Andthenmakeanothergraphwiththesamexaxis,andthenpollingresultsforboth
candidatesontheyaxis.ThenIwouldsuperimposeonegraphontotheotherto
visuallypresentthedata.Again,Iamnotsureifthisisanideathatexclusivelymakes
senseinmyhead,butI'llplayaroundwithit.ButthisisawaythatIcouldtrackthe
data,andthenvisuallypresentit.
9.

Listthetoolsyouwillneedtocompletethiseffort.Identifytoolsthatmight
currentlybeunavailabletoyou

Myfinalprojectwillbeawebsite,atthispointIthinkthatIwillbeusingtheCapstone
accountforWeeblyalreadyinexistence.AtthispointIthinkthatWeeblywouldworkwellfor
mebecauseitissimpleenoughtouseandthereisapollingelementthaticouldencorporate.I
seenoreasonthatWeeblywouldnotworkwellformyprojectatthispoint.

10.

Budget:whatmaterialsdoyouanticipateneedingforyourproject?Please
providealistwithquantitiesandanapproximatecostperitem,alongabrief
descriptionofwhyyouneedthisforyourproject.

item
(pleasebe
specificbrand,if
relevant,anditem#

quantity
ofthis
item

costperitem

retailerwhereyou
wanttopurchasethis
(andthesourceof
yourprice)

whyyouneedthisitemfor
yourproject

11.

Bibliographyearlydraft.Thisbibliographymustincludeatleast5books,5
scholarlyjournalarticles,5websites,andleastonepotentialsourcewhoyou
mightinterview.Useproperbibliographiccitation(MLAorAPAformatyour
choice).YouarewelcometouseEasyBiborrefertotheformattingtemplate
createdbyPurdueUniversity:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/Explainwhy
youanticipate(atthispoint)thatthesesourceswouldberelevant.

5Books
Dines,Gail,andJeanMcMahonHumez.Gender,Race,andClassinMedia:ATextreader.
ThousandOaks,CA:Sage,1995.Print.
Thiselectionisbetweenamanandawoman,soatsomelevel,genderplaysarole.This
sourcewillgivemeinformationwhichwillhelpmeunderstandandanalyzethegenderbiasin
themedia.

Graber,DorisA.MassMediaandAmericanPolitics.Washington,D.C.:Congressional
Quarterly,1980.Print.
Thisissimplyasourceanalyzingtherelationshipbetweenmedia(newspaperand
television...itwasthe80's)andgovernment,Idonotplanreadingallofthisbook,butitcould
potentiallyhavesomeinterestingthingstocompare(thingsthathavechangedovertime).

Issenberg,Sasha.TheVictoryLab:TheSecretScienceofWinningCampaigns.NewYork:
Crown,2012.Print.

Thisisessentiallythebibleforpoliticaloperatives.Iwanttosee,fromacampaign
perspective,whateffectthemediahasonhowcampaignsarerun.Itisnotsimplyvotersthat
areaffected,atsomelevel,campaignshavetoreactandrespondtocoverage.

Iyengar,Shanto,andDonaldR.Kinder.NewsThatMatters:TelevisionandAmerican
Opinion.Chicago:UofChicago,1987.Print
TheUniversityofChicagohasverystrongcasestudiesonpolitcs,soitisanextremely
crediblesourcethatIaminterestedinusing.Thissourcewillhelpmeunderstandthemedia's
effectonopinion(whichisobviouslybroaderthanavote).

Jamieson,KathleenHall.,andKarlynKohrs.Campbell.TheInterplayofInfluence:News,
Advertising,Politics,andtheMassMedia.Belmont,CA:WadsworthPub.,1992.Print.
Thissourcewillhelpmeunderstandthechangeinmediaovertime.

Popkin,SamuelL.TheReasoningVoter:CommunicationandPersuasioninPresidential
Campaigns.Chicago:UofChicago,1991.Print.
Iaminterestedinseeingthissource'stakeonmediaasatoolofpersuasion.

5Journals:
Hetherington,MarcJ."TheMedia'sRoleinFormingVoters'NationalEconomicEvaluations
in1992."JSTOR.N.p.,n.d.Web.27Oct.2014.

Thiswillhelpmeanalystthemediaasitcoverseconomicplatformpieces,anditis
somethingthatvotersvalue(economicstability).

Freedman,Paul."MeasuringMediaExposureandtheEffectofNegativeCampaignAds."
JSTOR.N.p.,n.d.Web.27Oct.2014.

Iwillbefocusingonrhe"measuringmedia"partofthis.Campaingadsareinteresting,but
notmyprojectandIsimplydon'thaveenoughtime.

"TheFoxNewsEffect:MediaBiasandVoting."NBER.N.p.,n.d.Web.26Oct.2014.

Thiswillhelpmeunderstandthemotivesbehindhows

Weaver,DavidH."WhatVotersLearnfromMedia."JSTOR.N.p.,n.d.Web.

Thissourcewillbeused(hopefully)tohelpmehoneinonmyobjective.

Prior,Markus."PostBroadcastDemocracy."GoogleBooks.N.p.,n.d.Web.27Oct.2014.

Anothersourceondemocracy,andhowthemediainfluencesit.IfeellikeIneedmultiple
sourcesothatIcancomparethem(theywereallwrittenoverthecourseof30years,sothere
arealotofchangingvariables)

5Websites:
"MappingTheWBURPollShowsCitiesToBeTheBattleground."MappingTheWBURPoll
ShowsCitiesToBeTheBattlegroundRSS20.N.p.,n.d.Web.27Oct.2014.

IamusingpollingdatathatWBURproduces.AlsoImaybeinterestedtoresearch
battlegrounddistrictsinMAandseeifthemediahasanyeffectinthoseareasspecifically.
Alsoitisagoodmodelofaninfographic.

"2014VoterContactEffortsOutpacing2010."NGPVANTheLeadingTechnology
ProvidertoDemocraticandProgressiveCampaigns.N.p.,n.d.Web.27Oct.2014.
IamusingNGPVANasadatabaseandsource.Virtuallyalldemocraticcampaignsuse
VAN,andIknowthattheCoakleycampaigndoes.(TheRepublicanshavenocentralized
database).

"Panagopoulos2006cNewspaperGOTVAdsandVoterTurnout|GetOutTheVote.N.p.,
n.d.Web.15Oct.2014.
GOTV(getoutthevotetheweekorsobeforetheelection)isthemosthectictimeduringa
campaign,thiswebsitehasdataspecificallyinadsandmediaduringGOTV,soIwillusethis
datawhileIanalyzethelasttwoweeksoftheelection.

"CharlieBakerforGovernor."CharlieBakerforGovernor.N.p.,n.d.Web.26Oct.2014.

"MarthaCoakleyforGovernor."Issues.N.p.,n.d.Web.26Oct.2014.

ObviouslyIwillneedtohaveaprettyclearunderstandingofboththecandidatesandtheir
platforms,bothplatformsareavailableontheircampaignwebsite(campaignwebsites
generallydisappearbyJanuaryorFebruarysoIpulledbothoftheirplatformsforreference)

Interview
goingoffofmyexamplearticlefromearlier,JimO'Sullivanwouldbeagoodpersonto
interviewbecausehetendstowriteabouttheelectionmultipletimesaweek