Judith S. Trent

The Ideal Candidate A Study of the Desired Attributes of the Public and the Media Across Two Presidential Campaigns

The view of image as a transaction between what a candidate does and the evaluative response that voters have to it creates at least three critical questions as yet unanswered in the literature of political communication. First, although the power of the media to affect the success or failure of political campaigns and candidates has been demonstrated by researchers and is popularly believed, do the views of individual media members regarding the qualities necessary for presidential candidates differ significantly from those of the electorate? Second, although voters share many beliefs about the personal qualities that presidential candidates ought to possess, do these attributes vary from presidential election to election? Finally, although voter assessment of a candidates image is a major determinant of voter behavior and voters have a mental picture of an ideal candidate that they use to evaluate actual candidates, do the evaluative dimensions differ by party affiliation? The answers to these questions were determined from the results of a survey of 236 professional journalists covering and 444 voting citizens attending presidential rallies in New Hampshire in 1988 and 1992.

Sex still counts: Women's use of televised advertising during the decade of the 80's

Abstract In an effort to determine if significant differences exist in the televised negative commercials of female and male candidates, the advertising spots used by women who ran for a major political office during the decade of the 80s were compared with a sample used by men running for major political office in those same years. An analysis of the verbal, visual and production strategies contained in the ads revealed that enough differences exist to document the emergence of a female style in the utilization of televised negative advertising.

Image, Media Bias, and Voter Characteristics: The Ideal Candidate from 1988-2000

The view of image as a transaction between what candidates say and do and the way in which voters compare that behavior to their beliefs of what candidates should be or do stimulates three critical questions important to political communication. First, although the power of the media to affect the outcome of political campaigns and candidates is believed by citizens and has been documented by researchers, do the views of individual members of the media regarding the ideal qualities required of presidential candidates differ significantly from those of the voters? Second, do the criteria of the “ideal presidential candidate” vary across elections? And finally, do the evaluative dimensions of idealness differ by party affiliation, age, or gender? The answers to these and related questions were determined from a survey of 562 journalists covering, and 1,246 citizens attending, political rallies in New Hampshire during the presidential primaries of 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000.

The ideal candidate revisited A study of the desired attributes of the public and the media across three presidential campaigns

The view of image as a transaction between all that a candidate says and does and the way in which voters compare that behavior to their personal vision of what a candidate should be inspires at least three questions important to campaign communication. First, although the ability or power of the media to affect the success or failure of political campaigns and candidates is popularly believed and has been documented by researchers, do the views of individual members of the media regarding the ideal qualities required of president candidates differ significantly from those of voters? Second, do the characteristics or criteria of the “ideal candidate” ascribed by the media and/or the electorate vary from election to election? And finally, do the evaluative dimensions of “idealness” differ by party affiliation, age, or gender? The answers to these questions were determined from the results of a survey of 388 professional journalists covering and 734 citizens attending rallies in New Hampshire during the presidential primaries of 1988, 1992, and 1996.

Presidential surfacing: The ritualistic and crucial first act

The process by which people sought to emerge as contenders for the presidential nominations of the major parties in 1976 is explored, with particular reference to the impact of changes in campaign financing law and the rules for convention delegate selection on that process. These changes created new constraints and required candidates to adapt if they were to be successful.

The Idealized Presidential Candidate A Vision Over Time

Image as a transaction between what candidates say and do and the way voters compare that behavior with their personal vision of what candidates should be or do stimulates at least three critical questions important to political communication. First, although the ability or power of the media to affect the success or failure of candidates and campaigns is believed by many citizens and documented by research, do views of individual members of the media regarding ideal qualities presidential candidates should possess differ significantly from those of voters? Second, do characteristics or attributes of the “ideal” presidential candidate, as affixed by the media and the electorate, vary from election to election? Finally, do the evaluative dimensions of “idealness” differ in relationship to gender, age, or party affiliation? Answers are determined from results of a survey of journalists covering and citizens attending political rallies in New Hampshire during the 1988 to 2004 presidential primaries.

Public Relations Education: An Opportunity for Speech Communication.

Public relations can and should be a career alternative available to the speech communication graduate. This article encourages the development of public relations programs through the expansion, modification, and unification of courses now taught within speech communication departments and suggests a curriculum for implementing the program.

The Rhetoric of the Challenger: George Stanley McGovern.

The authors examine the traditional expectations of a political challenger and Senator McGoverns failure to fulfill those expectations.

Cracked and Shattered Ceilings: Gender, Race, Religion, Age, and the Ideal Candidate

Image as a transaction between what candidates say and do and the way voters compare that behavior with their personal vision of what candidates should be or do stimulates at least four critical questions important to political communication. First, what qualities or attributes do voters believe are important for a presidential candidate to possess—what are the dimensions of the “ideal” presidential candidate? Second, do these views change with time and with candidates, or are they fairly consistent across elections? Third, were the unique candidate demographics (religion, race, gender, and age) apparent in the 2008 New Hampshire primary important to voters? Finally, do the evaluative dimensions of “idealness” differ in relationship to the gender, age, or party affiliation of those who attend political rallies? Answers are determined from results of a survey of citizens attending political rallies in New Hampshire during the 1988 through 2008 presidential primaries.

A synthesis of methodologies used in studying political communication

While this survey indicates that entire dimensions of political communication have not been studied and that research has not been “receiver‐effect” oriented, it also demonstrates that a variety of analytical mehods have been explored.