Gender and racestyle coverage in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The purpose of this study is to investigate media coverage of the 2008 Democratic presidential candidates U.S. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. A content analysis was conducted of newspapers, newsmagazines, and political interview shows investigating coverage of horserace, character trait, policy, family background, appearance, and race topics as well as tone during the presidential primary campaign. The study also investigates how male-only, female-only and groups of mixed gendered reporters covered the candidates. Results show the media continue to focus on horserace topics but did not emphasize race. Newsmagazines reported character traits more than any other media type and groups of mixed gendered reporters covered candidates similarly to female-only reporters. Clinton received more negative and masculine trait coverage than Obama and Obama received more positive and feminine trait coverage than Clinton while Edwards received the most implicit RaceStyle coverage during 2008.