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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Mass Communication

Louisiana State University

2014

Congress

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Predictors Of National Broadcast And Cable Television News Coverage Of The Members Of The U.S. House Of Representatives, Jeremy Padgett Jan 2014

Predictors Of National Broadcast And Cable Television News Coverage Of The Members Of The U.S. House Of Representatives, Jeremy Padgett

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how institutional, individual, and situational variables work to influence the volume of national broadcast and cable television news coverage members of the 109th, 110th, 111th, and 112th U.S. Houses of Representatives received. Analysis combines public data on House structure, member characteristics, member effort, and member circumstances with original computer-aided content analysis of the 38,430 transcripts in which members spoke and the 243,205 statements members made on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC between January 3, 2005 and January 3, 2013, the full terms of these four congresses. The results presented in this dissertation yield important …


Safer To Steal Than Score : Press Coverage Of Financial And Sexual Scandals, And Electoral Outcomes, Chance York Jan 2014

Safer To Steal Than Score : Press Coverage Of Financial And Sexual Scandals, And Electoral Outcomes, Chance York

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines communication processes surrounding political scandal. It demonstrates that scandal coverage is improperly calibrated to the severity of scandal accusations, with trivial but salacious sex scandals tending to receive inordinate amounts of press attention while deeper forms of financial corruption go unreported or underreported. Patterns of scandal coverage, in turn, result in real-world effects on public perceptions and electoral outcomes. Specifically, sex scandals generate such intense media scrutiny that accused officials often resign their offices rather than generate unwanted publicity. Financial scandals are often downplayed, resulting in little or no ramifications for the accused. Recognizing basic differences in …