Men at Odds: Jeremiah Wright and Public Opinion of Barack Obama During the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary

• In Event: Mass Communication and the 2008 Presidential Campaign

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand how coverage of the Jeremiah Wright story affected public support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during the 2008 primaries. We collected data on valence and deviance of the coverage through content analysis; we also collected polls indicating Obama’s favorability. We found Obama support was not affected by the volume of coverage. However, we found a positive correlation between the story’s deviance and public support for Obama.

Authors

• John Francis Minbiole, Syracuse University

• Mandell Hinda, Syracuse University