The explosion of super PAC activity in presidential primaries since the 2012 election cycle prompts an examination of these organizations’ behavior and its effects on other types of committees. Specifically, this study investigates how fundraising and spending efforts by candidate-specific super PACs, or single-candidate super PACs, benefit their supported candidate’s principal campaign committee. Integrating data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and various qualitative sources, this study explores how candidate-specific super PACs are progressively exploiting their unique legal structure to fundraise for themselves and their candidate’s authorized committee. The probing reveals that candidate-specific super PACs steer contributions toward campaign committees through a process where soft money is transformed into hard dollars for the campaign to spend. Ordinary least squares and probit regression analysis are also used to determine whether the financial strength of candidate-specific super PACs relative to their candidate’s authorized committee influences the number and types of basic campaign activities the super PAC undertakes. The results indicate that the more a super PAC spends compared to its linked campaign, the more it will engage in more traditional campaign activities and have a greater probability of shouldering particular persuasion and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts. The study’s synthesized findings suggest that the financial activities of candidate-specific super PACs in a presidential nomination contest significantly and increasingly facilitate the operations of presidential hopefuls’ campaigns.

Nowadays social networks have millions or some even billions of users who spend most of their free time there. Therefore there is no surprise that the potential impact on society becomes part of many experts research. According to some authors, social networks offer an opportunity for political participation especially for those who generally do not participate. Even politicians start to use these networks to mobilize voters. We can observe this new trend in the first direct presidential elections in the Czech Republic 2013, when some of the candidates tried to reach and mobilize voters through social networks. During presidential campaign 2012/2013, users could have participated in various political activities which enabled sharing political views. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of using social networks during presidential elections, particularly using of Facebook, on interest in politics between users 18- 35 years. The diploma thesis focuses on the impact of Facebook because it is the most popular and used social network in the Czech Republic and also due to the fact that some experts argue that this social network played an important role in the presidential campaign. This paper will be based on quantitative research in form of a questionnaire survey, which was created on the...

A propaganda eleitoral e especificamente o Horário Gratuito de Propaganda Eleitoral (HGPE) são temas de numerosa quantidade de trabalhos no Brasil, mas poucos consideram analisar os spots eleitorais e mais raro ainda é o estudo de seu impacto sobre o voto. Considerando essa lacuna na literatura, esta tese visa entender como os diferentes tipos de spot eleitorais de TV (positivo, negativo e comparativo) afetam a decisão do voto no Brasil. Para tanto, o caso estudado se restringe à análise da eleição presidencial de 2010, tendo como objeto empírico os spots veiculados pelos dois principais candidatos da disputa: Dilma Rousseff e José Serra. Com base no modelo de inteligência afetiva (MARCUS; MCKUEN; NEUMAN, 2000) e uma vasta literatura dos efeitos da comunicação política sobre o voto (BRADER, 2007; TINKHAM; WEAVER-LARISCY,1993; JOHNSON-CARTEE; COPELAND,1991; MERRITT, 1984; PINKLETON, 1997), foi realizado um estudo experimental para avaliar como esses diferentes tipos de spot interferiram na escolha dos eleitores. Dentre os resultados, observa-se que os spots positivos foram eficientes em aumentar a vontade de votar nos candidatos do spot, mas pouco eficientes para diminuir a vontade de votar no candidato adversário. Em segundo lugar, verificou-se que os spots comparativos tiveram impacto mais parecido aos spots positivos do que aos negativos para a tomada de decisão do voto, o que contraria a literatura sobre o tema, que considera esse tipo de spot como negativo. Observou-se também que os spots negativos não apresentaram efeito bumerangue, o que denota grande capacidade estratégica desse tipo de spot para minar a intenção de voto do adversário sem que isso signifique necessariamente perdas para o candidato que o veicula. / The electoral propaganda and specifically the Free Time Electoral Propaganda (HGPE) on TV are the subject of a great amount of works in Brazil, but few of them consider analyze the electoral spots and rarer still is the study of its impact on the vote. Given that gap in the literature, this thesis aims to understand how the different types of electoral TV spots (positive, negative and comparative) affect the vote decision in Brazil. Therefore, the case study is restricted to the analysis of the presidential election of 2010, having as empirical object the spots served by the two main candidates of the dispute: Dilma Rousseff and José Serra. Based on the emotional intelligence model (Marcus; McKuen; Neuman, 2000) and a vast literature of the effects of political communication on the vote (Brader, 2007; Tinkham; Weaver-Lariscy, 1993; Johnson-Cartee; Copeland, 1991; Merritt 1984; Pinkleton, 1997 etc.), an experimental study was carried out to evaluate how these different types of spot influenced the choice of the voters. Among the results, it is observed that the positive spots were effective in increasing the intention to vote in the candidate of the spot, but not efficient to reduce the intention to vote in the opponent candidate. Second, the comparative spots were more like impact to the positive spots than negative ones to influence the decision making of the vote, which is contrary to the literature on the subject, which considers such spot as negative. It was also observed that negative spots showed no boomerang effect, which shows great strategic capacity of this type of spot to undermine the intent of the opponent\'s vote without necessarily mean losses for the candidate that conveys.

Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-53).

Grounded in the theory of intra-media agenda-setting, this research will analyze the dynamic process among the Mexican national television networks during the 2006 presidential election campaign period. Specifically, what were the intra-media agenda-setting effects between the Mexican television media Televisa and TV Azteca during the 2006 presidential election campaign? The television content analysis data set is from a systematic random sample of national Mexican prime time television news programs broadcast during the official Instituto Federal Electoral's (Federal Electoral Institute) presidential campaign period, which runs from January 19 to June 28, 2006. The Mexican television newscasts that were analyzed are Televisa's El Noticiero con Joaquín López Dóriga, and TV Azteca's Hechos de la Noche. Overall, the results indicated that television news strongly influences a presidential candidate's television political spots. The flow of communication between television news and a candidate’s television political spots was scrutinized in several time frames in order to examine the influence from a general perspective (3 months, then 2 months) into a specific (month by month) perspective. The outcome at the 3-month scale indicated that television news strongly influenced a candidate’s political spots. The same pattern was observed at the two-month interval. Finally, the month-by month outcome also indicated that television news influenced a candidate’s political spots. / text

A propaganda eleitoral e especificamente o Horário Gratuito de Propaganda Eleitoral (HGPE) são temas de numerosa quantidade de trabalhos no Brasil, mas poucos consideram analisar os spots eleitorais e mais raro ainda é o estudo de seu impacto sobre o voto. Considerando essa lacuna na literatura, esta tese visa entender como os diferentes tipos de spot eleitorais de TV (positivo, negativo e comparativo) afetam a decisão do voto no Brasil. Para tanto, o caso estudado se restringe à análise da eleição presidencial de 2010, tendo como objeto empírico os spots veiculados pelos dois principais candidatos da disputa: Dilma Rousseff e José Serra. Com base no modelo de inteligência afetiva (MARCUS; MCKUEN; NEUMAN, 2000) e uma vasta literatura dos efeitos da comunicação política sobre o voto (BRADER, 2007; TINKHAM; WEAVER-LARISCY,1993; JOHNSON-CARTEE; COPELAND,1991; MERRITT, 1984; PINKLETON, 1997), foi realizado um estudo experimental para avaliar como esses diferentes tipos de spot interferiram na escolha dos eleitores. Dentre os resultados, observa-se que os spots positivos foram eficientes em aumentar a vontade de votar nos candidatos do spot, mas pouco eficientes para diminuir a vontade de votar no candidato adversário. Em segundo lugar, verificou-se que os spots comparativos tiveram impacto mais parecido aos spots positivos do que aos negativos para a tomada de decisão do voto, o que contraria a literatura sobre o tema, que considera esse tipo de spot como negativo. Observou-se também que os spots negativos não apresentaram efeito bumerangue, o que denota grande capacidade estratégica desse tipo de spot para minar a intenção de voto do adversário sem que isso signifique necessariamente perdas para o candidato que o veicula. / The electoral propaganda and specifically the Free Time Electoral Propaganda (HGPE) on TV are the subject of a great amount of works in Brazil, but few of them consider analyze the electoral spots and rarer still is the study of its impact on the vote. Given that gap in the literature, this thesis aims to understand how the different types of electoral TV spots (positive, negative and comparative) affect the vote decision in Brazil. Therefore, the case study is restricted to the analysis of the presidential election of 2010, having as empirical object the spots served by the two main candidates of the dispute: Dilma Rousseff and José Serra. Based on the emotional intelligence model (Marcus; McKuen; Neuman, 2000) and a vast literature of the effects of political communication on the vote (Brader, 2007; Tinkham; Weaver-Lariscy, 1993; Johnson-Cartee; Copeland, 1991; Merritt 1984; Pinkleton, 1997 etc.), an experimental study was carried out to evaluate how these different types of spot influenced the choice of the voters. Among the results, it is observed that the positive spots were effective in increasing the intention to vote in the candidate of the spot, but not efficient to reduce the intention to vote in the opponent candidate. Second, the comparative spots were more like impact to the positive spots than negative ones to influence the decision making of the vote, which is contrary to the literature on the subject, which considers such spot as negative. It was also observed that negative spots showed no boomerang effect, which shows great strategic capacity of this type of spot to undermine the intent of the opponent\'s vote without necessarily mean losses for the candidate that conveys.

The recent upsurge of electoral success from the Brexit Leave campaign and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign 2016, confirm that populist politics has taken a greater role in Europe and in the U.S. The purpose of this research is to see to what extent each of the two campaigns are populist, and whether their statements are similar to each other. This will increase further knowledge about the populist phenomenon and its complexity. Hence, comparative analyses of six speeches from Brexit’s Leave campaign and Trump’s presidential campaign have been conducted through the framework of Mudde’s minimal definition of populism. The results show that both campaigns have populist features and that they have some commonalities, but still vary in the details, due to the countries’ historical, social and economic backgrounds. The two campaigns’ representatives are using similar populist strategies in order to reach their audiences. It is further recommended to expand this research and examine Trump’s presidency and its impacts with the UK’s process of leaving and its outcomes, which will provide a further understanding of the populist upsurge as well as its consequences.

The purpose of this research was to determine the aural and visual issues present in televised political campaign advertising of the 1972 Presidential election year. Content analysis was the method employed to determine these issues. The campaign commercials of George McGovern and Richard Nixon were the subject of the analysis. The issues coded were Social Welfare, Natural Resources, Labor, Management, Civil Rights, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Vietnam, Government, Public Order, Defense, Republicans, and Democrats. The results show that the campaigns used issues appearing in network news coverage, the percentage of time each campaign spent on the issues, and that the aural content was supported by the visual images in the commercials.

The Diploma thesis concerns itself with the possibilities of election campaigns and their impacts on public opinion on the occasion of the first direct election of the president of the Czech republic. Influencing of the public opinion takes place in a system of public - politics - media, which is described in this thesis. Utilising this system I am going to answer the following question - how effective are election campaigns in influencing election decisions of voters? The witnessed election campaigns were unique in many aspects - they triggered an unprecedented response from the public and the media, which came close to resemble election behaviour in the United States of America, whose presidential election campaigns are considered a classic example. The theoretical background serves the purpose of analysing the election campaign of Karel Schwarzenberg, who, using an online campaign, achieved a result, which surprised a number of agencies examining voters' preferences, and proved, what a good campaign team is capable of given their candidate has strong public support. Next I am going to present assessments of the campaign by political scientists, social scientists and others. Key words: Public, public opinion, possibilities of influencing public opinion, massmedia, election campaigns, american...

The diploma thesis "Analysis of the Czech and American News Coverage of the 2008 Presidential Elections in the U.S. and American President" examined if American press, represented by The New Your Times, is influencing the coverage of presidential candidates in Czech press, which is represented by Mladá fronta DNES and Hospodářské noviny. The examination is based on the example of presidential race in 2008 in USA. The aim of the research is if there are signs of international two-step flow in Czech press. The second part of the research is focused on so called honeymoon effect in Czech press on the example of news Coverage of President Barack Obama in his first term in office. The quantitative content analysis showed that there are similar features in the coverage of presidential race in Czech and American press. The investigation also showed that Czech press is more positive in the coverage of Barrack Obama at the beginning of his first term in office and this positivity declined in the second year.