Variables and Definitions

Dependent Variables

Types of Coverage - Measured by the number of mentions or "hits" in the different types of media coverage

• Television Coverage
  • CBS Evening News with Dan Rather
  • NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
  • ABC Nightly News with Peter Jennings
  • Fox News Special Report with Brit Hume
  • PBS New Hours with Jim Lehrer
  • CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

• National Papers
  • The New York Times
  • The Los Angeles

• Local Papers
  • The Telegraph Herald - Dubuque, Iowa
  • The Post Courier - Charleston, South Carolina
  • The Union Leader - Manchester, New Hampshire

Independent Variables

• Our Specific Group Variables
  • Total Press Releases
  • % of Image Press Releases
  • % of Policy Press Releases
  • % of Positive Press Releases
  • % of Negative Press Releases

• Other Variables
  • Days of the Week *
    • Monday
    • Tuesday
    • Wednesday
    • Thursday
    • Friday
    • Saturday
    • Sunday

• Number of Candidates in the Race on a Particular Day
• Number of Days before the Iowa Caucuses
• If a Debate occurs on a Given Day
• The Day before the State of the Union Address
• The Day of the State of the Union Address
• The Day after the State of the Union Address
  

* In terms of Newspapers, the days of the week signified the next day in the news cycle (Monday=Tuesday, Tuesday=Wednesday, etc). Television coverage is represented by the specific day given (Monday=Monday).