Visual Priming and Framing During the 2020 Democratic Presidential Debates

Electoral Status Predicts Favorable Camera Treatment

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12977487
AutoresPatrick A Stewart (0000-0002-6906-8236, autor correspondente), Patrick Stewart (0000-0001-9929-1087, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, autor correspondente), Austin D Eubanks (0000-0003-3497-5335, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville), Nicholas Hersom (University of Arkansas at Fayetteville), Cooper A Hearn (University of Arkansas at Fayetteville)
Ano2020
Volume26
Fascículo1
Páginas256-276
Data de publicação2020-08-31
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe International Journal of Press/Politics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1940-1612 • E-ISSN: 1040-1620
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1940161220952736
OpenAlexW3081702117
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas56

The 2020 Democratic presidential primary debates provide a unique opportunity to systematically evaluate network visual production choices in a multicandidate context. The joint decision of the Democratic National Committee and NBC to include an expansive field of twenty contenders through “prime-time” debates on consecutive nights (June 26 and 27, 2019) provided for a natural experiment with equal numbers of top- and second-tier candidates randomly assigned to each night. In this preregistered study, we evaluate whether candidates are treated differently in the amount of camera time they receive (visual priming) and types of camera shots they appear in (visual framing) based on electoral status. We replicate a study of the initial two Democratic and Republican 2016 presidential primary debates for each party and that found the top-two candidates received substantially better visual coverage than all others. We confirm and extend these findings by evaluating different operationalizations of electoral status (top-two, top-tier, stage position, and poll standing). Findings suggest that when visual priming is considered, stage position outperforms other electoral status indicators in terms of explaining variance for total camera and average fixation time. In terms of visual framing, head-and-shoulder “one-shots” are better predicted by top-tier status, whereas public opinion poll standing predicts increased time spent in multiple-candidate shots. Finally, appearances in “two-shots” (side-by-side and split-screen portrayals) were not significantly explained by electoral status, likely due to the paucity of these depictions

Democracy · Framing (construction · Political science · Politics · Presidential election · Presidential system · Priming (agriculture · History · Law · Media Influence and Health · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology