The American Voter?: The Construction of the American Voters in Local and National Newspapers

• In Event: Scholar to Scholar Session III

Abstract

This study examines how the American voters are portrayed in local and national print newspapers. Using a content analytic method, five local newspapers and two national newspapers during the 2002 Congressional campaigns are examined. 1,313 instances of the term “voter” were subjected to quantitative and qualitative coding techniques. The results reveal that voters are ascribed different levels of agency and potency in local and national media, and they are invited to play different roles.

Author

• Soo-Hye Han, Univ of Texas, Austin