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A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master’s of Technology: Fine Arts, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / This study seeks to examine the exponential growth of social media technology as a key component in recent American political campaigning, as well as its use and impact on the larger disciplines of marketing and branding. Adopting the approach of a case study with the focus firmly on the current American president, Barack Obama, the study identifies the key media and technologies used in the build-up to the 2008 American presidential elections in order to unpack and understand how such media channels, technological platforms and patterns were successfully utilised. References are also made to the concepts of ‘branding’ and ‘super branding’ in the discussion, and to the myriad ways in which social media has helped create and roll-out what has since become commonly known as ‘brand Obama’. To provide a framework for the discussion and in order to further understand the rapid growth and proliferation of social media on the political campaigning landscape, a comparison is made with the 2004 American presidential election campaign. This, it is posited, will assist us understand the drivers of new media technologies especially as they are used to create and impact positively on the growth of political super brands.

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The Internet is rapidly becoming an important part of a presidential candidate's media strategy. Specifically, a candidate's website has distinct implications and uses in the early stages of a presidential campaign. Using an eclectic approach, this research examines the campaign websites of the candidates for the U.S. Presidency in 2008. By examining the websites using content analysis, analog criticism, media criticism, and scenario analysis emerging trends become apparent and conclusions on their further implications can be drawn. This research presents two major conclusions on the affects of campaign websites on the early stages of a presidential campaign. First, the design structure and features available on the Internet could be used to give the user a feeling of direct connection with the campaign, which in turn could motivate political involvement. Second, a candidate's new media strategy and usage must match with the overarching rhetorical style of the rest of the campaign. These two major concepts serve as starting points for further academic research and a greater understanding of our changing democratic system. / Department of Telecommunications

This study sought to determine if the use of negative and aggressive reporting descriptors of female political candidates by the media influences the perception of candidate credibility and voter support. Other researchers have found that female politicians are more likely than male politicians to be subjected to negative and aggressive reporting descriptors during political campaigns by the news media. Two hypotheses were addressed in the study. Hypothesis one predicted that negative and aggressive reporting descriptors of female politicians would result in lower perceptions of candidate credibility in terms of competence and character as compared to neutral descriptors of female politicians. Hypothesis two predicted that negative and aggressive reporting descriptors of female politicians would result in reduced voter support as compared to neutral reporting descriptors of female politicians. An experimental design was employed to test the hypotheses. One experimental group was exposed to a five minute radio news program with negative and aggressive reporting descriptors of a female political candidate while the second experimental group was exposed to the same news reports with neutral reporting descriptors. Both hypotheses were tested utilizing a two-tailed t-test. Results showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups on the perception of candidate credibility in terms of competence. The data would indicate that negative and aggressive reporting descriptors have a detrimental effect on female politicians in terms of perceptions of expertise. The data did not show a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of candidate support. The results show that female politicians, who are already less likely to have access to political experience, are further hindered in terms of perceptions of competence by the negative and aggressive reporting descriptors used by the media.

The objective of this thesis is to make a comparative study of President Nixon’s use of television during his two presidential campaigns. Specific emphasis will be placed on Nixon’s use of television in both of the political campaigns. The final objective of this thesis is to record for future researchers one presidential candidate’s use of television, in two political campaigns for the presidency. One of the campaigns he lost by a narrow margin of the vote, and the second one he won by a small percentage of the popular vote. The accomplishment of the objectives will answer the questions; How was television used in President Nixon’s two presidential campaigns? How did it vary in the two presidential campaigns of 1960 and 1968? This thesis is not intended to deal with some of the other questions that might be asked about the two campaigns, such as how did Nixon’s relationship vary with the press, or how did he use the modes of proof in his television speeches.

The advent of the Internet has increased access to information and impacted many aspects of life, including politics. The present study utilized Pew Internet & American Life survey data from the November 2008 presidential election time period to investigate the degree to which political blog reading predicted online political discussion, online political participation, whether or not a person voted, and voting choice, over and above the predication that could be explained by demographic measures of age, education level, gender, income, marital status, race/ethnicity, and region. Ordinary least squares hierarchical regression revealed that political blog reading was positively and statistically significantly related to online political discussion and online political participation. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis indicated that the odds of a political blog reader voting were 1.98 the odds of a nonreader voting, but vote choice was not predicted by reading political blogs. These results are interpreted within the uses and gratifications framework and the understanding that blogs add an interpersonal communication aspect to a mass medium. As more people use blogs and the nature of the blog-reading audience shifts, continuing to track and describe the blog audience with valid measures will be important for researchers and practitioners alike. Subsequent potential effects of political blog reading on engagement, discussion, and participation will be important to understand as these effects could impact the political landscape of this country and, therefore, the world.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Prior studies on state legislative elections have found gubernatorial coattails playing a key role; however, they fail to examine the temporal and state-based trends of this phenomena. Using precinct level data from nine states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming), over two election cycles (2002 and 2006), I measure the importance a state’s ideological makeup, and a governor’s institutional powers has on gubernatorial coattails. Findings reaffirm the importance of coattails, and previously researched variables; however, the addition of the above measures greatly affects coattail strength, dependent on host of controlling factors.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Iraq War and the War on Terror were pivotal issues in the presidential race for the White House in 2004. Competing frames about the meaning of September 11, 2001, terrorism, and American power were constructed by the rival candidates and established a limited debate that marginalized alternative interpretations of war and peace. It is likely that the dilemma over U.S. forces in Iraq and the War on Terror will continue to be a major issue in the upcoming 2008 Presidential Election. Therefore, the campaign speeches of the presidential candidates, President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, during the 2004 Election regarding terrorism were important to understanding the themes that initiated public debate in the U.S. about the conflict in Iraq and the War on Terror. In this document analysis, these candidates’ public addresses illustrated how the role of the U.S. power to combat terrorism shaped a particular perspective about the post-9/11 world. Ideas that challenged “official” debate about war and national security were excluded from mainstream media coverage of the campaign. In order to examine the narrow debate over terrorism and how alternative “ways of seeing” war have been and continue to be marginalized, this study compared how the candidates framed the war in contrast to anti-war voices. Cindy Sheehan, who is an emergent leader in the peace and social justice movement, and more “official” voices of dissent like Representative Dennis Kucinich, have criticized “official” framing of the war. Dissenting perspectives about the Iraq War and the War on Terror invite a different understanding about U.S. hegemony, terrorism, and the consequences of the War on Terror for foreign and domestic policies. The impact of the war upon domestic policy and national crises, such as the widely televised and heavily criticized federal response to Hurricane Katrina Summer 2005, were examined to explore how domestic crises undermine “official” framing of the Iraq War and the War on Terror and empower alternative understandings of war and peace.