Investigates the influence of negative advertising in political campaigns. Concludes that negative advertising reduces the image evaluation of the targeted politician. (SRT)

Compares three television networks' treatments of "A New Beginning" (a Reagan campaign film shown at the 1984 Republican National Convention) and examines the effects on viewers of one network's critical preview of the film. Assesses the uses and limitations of rhetorical criticism in television coverage of political campaigns. (SR)

Examines women's political persuading between 1964 and 1984. Draws data from existing surveys done during Presidential election campaigns. Finds women's political persuading increased significantly during these years but lagged behind men's. Explores antecedents of women's political persuading represented in two constructs, access and competence.…

Examines the performances of Geraldine Ferraro and George Bush in the nationally televised vice-presidential debate in 1984 to determine differences in female and male patterns of communication concerning issues and decision-making. Suggests that rhetorical critics examine whether a masculine ethic has framed their analyses. (KEH)

Finds that both men and women participated in political discussion quite actively; men talked about the campaign with significantly more people than women; women named their husbands as their main political discussants, while men mentioned friends and coworkers; and there was close agreement between people's perceptions of their discussants'…

Examines the general strategies of Bill Clinton and George Bush in the 1992 presidential campaign regarding the abortion issue among the complex of family values appeals and in the context of the "culture war." Analyzes the rhetorical power of the dead fetus image shown in campaign advertising. Speculates on the influence of the abortion…

Results indicate that (1) voters' attitudes toward the candidates, issues, and parties stabilized after the election and (2) the first two debates were the most important events of the campaign with their greatest effects being felt between one and two weeks after the events. (PD)

Uses a Burkean approach that focuses on identification arising out of his four master tropes to explicate how campaign communications (strategic or unintentional, from the campaigners themselves or from other sources) in the 1992 presidential campaign produce a development of meanings in which certain issues and images may establish interpretive…

Interviews with media coordinators Peter Dailey and Gerald Rafshoon reveal the rationale for television advertising techniques used during the 1980 presidential campaign. Epilog reinforces the importance of the study of this kind of reality communication for speech communication scholars and students. (PD)

Examines the hecklers and their tactics as well as the major candidates' strategies for dealing with this phenomenon during the 1968 campaign. Assesses the heckling's legitimacy in light of the First Amendment which protects the rights of both the hecklers and speakers to be heard. (JMF)

Examines the effectiveness of slogans based on the symbolic nature of human beings and then identifies the functions and characteristics of slogans as they are used in movements and campaigns. Provides a classification system to view the slogan as a rhetorical device and social symbol. (JMF)

Articulates a theoretical framework for understanding the fundamental functions of political advertising (acclaiming, attacking, defending) which occur on the twin grounds of policy considerations and character. Applies this theory of political discourse to presidential general election television spots from 1980-1996, finding that Democrats and…

Examines the 1984 party platforms from the perspective of Walter Fisher's narrative paradigm. Concludes that though the two party's narratives followed different strategies, they both displayed the internal consistency required by Fisher's perspective as they reflected transcendent values that were both relevant to and consistent with party…

Notes that relationships between the media and the presidency have been written about extensively, yet some conclusions have been misapplied and overvalued, while other potential conclusions have been overlooked or denied. Presents 10 propositions providing corrective hypotheses and new focus for presidential communication researchers. (SKC)