Press Releases

Press Releases had very little, if any, effect on candidate coverage.

Expectations

As a group we expected that candidates would in fact be able to affect the amount of coverage they recieved. The issuing of press releases would be an effective tool in influencing the media. The more press releases a candidate released on a given day, the more press coverage that candidate would receive on that issue.

Results

After compiling all of the data from each issue we discovered that only one candidate was able to increase his coverage by issuing press releases. Howard was able to affect the amount of coverage he gained on the issues of education and healthcare. The relationship between his issuing of press releases and his coverage was a positive one, meaning that when he issued a release his coverage increased. On the other hand, when he did not issue a release the coverage was less.

Overall, press releases seemed rather useless for the majority of canidates. The one exception, Howard Dean, may have been an outlier because his status as the frontrunner for much of the race. As the frontrunner, Dean gained more attention and scrutiny than the other candidates. Hence, it would be logical to find that Dean's actions had more of an impact on the media than another candidate's actions.

Our reseach informed us that not all canidates can use press releases to their advantage when trying to gain increased coverage on an issue. Yet, it is possible, was seen in the case of Howard Dean. Therefore, the results are inconclusive and still leave many of our initial questions unanswered.

By Jack Hubbard

© Davidson College, 2004, Department of Political Science, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28035
Send comments, questions, and suggestions to Patrick Sellers
Created: 4/27/2004. Last updated: 5/3/2004.