The Utility of Staying on Message

Competing Partisan Frames and Public Awareness of Elite Differences on Political Issues

Bibliographic Data

ID13058372
AuthorsMichael W Wagner (0000-0003-4590-5033, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume5
Issue3
Publication date2007-10-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Forum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2194-6183 • E-ISSN: 1540-8884
PublisherDe Gruyter (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.2202/1540-8884.1197
OpenAlexW2160671916
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited27

Pundits, journalists, and citizens alike often bristle at the idea of politicians ``staying on message," believing that the practice undermines democracy. Scholars have had little to say with respect to whether the issue frames the news media report politicians using to characterize public questions affect how individuals view political battles between Republicans and Democrats over time. In this paper, I explore how the consistency with which partisan political elites frame issues influences whether individuals see important differences between the two major parties. Examinations of content analysis of Newsweek's coverage of three issues (abortion, tax, and energy policies) from 1975-2000 suggest that as the two parties provide increasingly internally homogenous, but externally competitive issue frames, individuals are more likely to believe there is more than the proverbial ``dime's worth of difference" between the two major parties. The evidence supports Sniderman and Bullock's(2004) theory of ``menu dependence" in American politics

Consistency (knowledge bases · Democracy · Elite · Law and economics · News media · Political communication · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Public relations · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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