Research Report-Style Over Substance: Spotlight on Elizabeth Dole
Summary
To compare newspaper coverage of Elizabeth Dole's presidential campaign with that of Texas Governor George W. Bush, Arizona Senator John McCain, and publisher Steve Forbes, researchers examined 462 stories totaling 3,900 paragraphs.1 The time period examined ran from August 1, 1999 (approximately two weeks before the August 14 Iowa Straw Poll) through October 20, 1999 (the day of Dole's withdrawal from the race 2). Newspapers studied were the following: the Des Moines Register, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post.
Quantity of Coverage
Dole received less coverage than Bush-the Republican front-runner-but more coverage than McCain or Forbes. Of the paragraphs examined, Dole was mentioned in 19.9 percent, Bush 52.4 percent, McCain 13.5 percent, and Forbes 9.7 percent.3
Issue Coverage
Dole received significantly less issue coverage, which included descriptions of her position or record on public policy matters, than did any of the male presidential candidates studied. Seventeen percent of the paragraphs on Dole were on issues, compared to 33 percent for Bush, 40 percent for McCain, and 22.5 percent for Forbes.
Personal Coverage
Dole received significantly more personal coverage, which included descriptions of her personality and attire, than did any of the male presidential candidates studied. Thirty-five percent of the paragraphs on Dole were personal, compared to 27 percent for Bush, 22 percent for McCain, and 16.5 percent for Forbes.
Candidate Quotes
While only Bush was quoted more frequently than was Dole among the candidates studied, reporters quoted Dole differently than they did her Republican rivals. Journalists directly quoted Dole's public remarks less frequently than the other candidates and paraphrased her statements more frequently than the others. Dole was quoted directly 44.5 percent of the time, compared to 56 percent for Bush, 63 percent for McCain, and 67 percent for Forbes. By contrast, Dole's statements were paraphrased 55.5 percent of the time, compared to 44 percent for Bush, 37 percent for McCain, and 33 percent for Forbes.
Gender of Reporter
Results suggest that male reporters account for the differences in coverage between Dole and the male candidates studied. This conclusion is based on the following results:
* Male reporters wrote the bulk of the paragraphs studied. Men wrote 65 percent of the examined paragraphs compared to 23 percent for women.6
* Female reporters were more likely than were their male colleagues to describe Dole's position or record on the issues: 25 percent of the time for female journalists and 14 percent of the time for male reporters.
* Male reporters were more likely to report the male candidates' issue positions than they were Dole's. Male journalists described Bush's position and record on the issues 34 percent of the time, McCain's 25 percent, and Forbes' 22 percent. Female reporters reported Bush's position and record on the issues at about the same rate (27 percent) as Dole's (25 percent), compared to 49 percent for McCain and 28 percent for Forbes.
* Male reporters were more likely than were female reporters to describe Dole's personal traits-39 percent of the time for men vs. 27 percent of the time for women. Bush (28 percent), McCain (22 percent), and Forbes (21) all received less personal coverage from male journalists than did Dole. Female journalists reported Bush personal traits (35 percent) at a greater rate than they did Dole's (27 percent). However, they reported McCain's personal traits 26 percent of the time, compared to 6 percent for Forbes.