Tone:
Negative releases include any press statement not focused primarily on the
candidate responsible for its release. Most commonly, releases in this
category will be attacks against another candidate or the current administration.
Some releases may be focused almost evenly on the candidate responsible for publishing it, and another individual who they are criticizing. These releases will be coded as 50/50, but only if there is an equal focus on both parties. Releases with a majority for one side or the other will be coded as either positive or negative.
Positive press releases discuss favorable aspects of the candidate
responsible for its distribution. Some releases may focus heavily on another
person or
organization, but in cases where a candidate is showing support for this person
or organization, they will still be coded as positive.
Content:
Press releases in the image category will be focused on character traits of
individuals or organization. For example, they may demonstrate or express an
opinion on the individual or organization’s character, reputation, reliability,
temperament, personality, morality, integrity, or honor. All press releases
referring to candidate endorsements will be considered as image based. Most
releases announcing new advertisements will qualify as image based, but this
may not always be true.
As the focus of this study centers on the different impact of image and policy based statements, an effort will be made to code releases into one of those two categories. However, similar to coding positive and negative releases, some may contain an even amount of image and content based information. In such cases, releases will be coded as 50/50, but only if they cannot be authoritatively coded as being predominantly image or policy.
Policy releases will be focused on concrete strategies or political
initiatives. The plans being described may pertain to the campaign or to programs
the candidate
will enact once elected to the presidency. Candidates should be stating their
personal opinions on issues and discussing how they would address them with
specific policies. Commentary on party or candidate platform should be considered
as policy releases, as well as press releases stemming from issue position
papers. In most cases, press releases dealing with campaign staff hiring or
campaign schedule will be coded as policy based, but this may not always be
true.