1 |
Campaigns, the media and insurgent success : the Reform party and the 1993 Canadian electionJenkins, Richard W. 11 1900 (has links)
It is well recognized that the 1993 election campaign catapulted the Reform party into the
national political scene, but our understanding of how this was possible is quite limited.
Drawing on the work in cognitive psychology on attitude change, the work on the news
media coverage of elections, and the political science work on election campaigns, this
thesis locates the impetus for Reform's success in the dynamic flow of information about
the party that was available in television news broadcasts and voters' likelihood of being
persuaded by that information. This link is developed by an analysis that makes use of a
content analysis of the 1993 campaign, the 1993 Canadian Election Study, and a merged
analysis of the election and news data.
The Reform party began the campaign as a minor component of the news coverage of the
election, but the news media coverage changed dramatically. Reform was provided with
more news access than its support indicated it deserved and that coverage focused on what
became a major theme of the election; the welfare state and the role of government.
Coverage of Reform underwent a further change as it both decreased and focused on
cultural issues during the last two weeks of the campaign. Using a two-mediator model of
attitude change, the analysis shows that people who were predisposed to agree with
Reform's anti-welfare state message and who were likely to be aware of the news
information, changed both their perceptions of the party and increased their support for the
party. Further support for the impact of the media is derived from the analysis of voter
response to the second change in news coverage.
The analysis suggests that campaigns do matter, but that the size of the impact is dependent
upon the underlying uncertainty associated with the parties and candidates, and on the
degree to which the information flow of the campaign changes. The information flow
contributes to both learning and priming among people who receive and accept new
information. While voters respond reasonably to new information, the outcome will
depend on what information voters are given and what information actually reaches the
habitually unaware segments of the population.
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2 |
Life at the fringes of Canadian federal politics: the experience of minor parties and their candidates during the 1993 general electionDrukier, Cindy Carol 11 1900 (has links)
This thesis marks the first attempt to systematically study Canadian minor parties. Minor
parties, as distinct from third parties, are those that acquire less than 5 percent of the
national vote (usually much less than one percent) and have never sent an MP to Ottawa.
We know little about parties as a group except that their numbers have steadily
proliferated over the last 20 years and that this growth shows no signs of abating. The
goal of this paper is fill the knowledge gap surrounding minor parties and to assess the
health of electoral democracy in Canada.
Specifically, nine minor parties are studied through the experiences of their
candidates during the 1993 federal election. The findings presented are based on data
collected from government sources and on surveys and interviews administered to a
sample of minor party candidates who ran in the greater Vancouver area.
The dissemination of political beliefs not represented in mainstream politics was
the dominant reason candidates gave for participating in elections. Winning is a long term
ambition, but not expected in the short run for the majority of parties. Despite their
modest aims, minor parties and candidates are unduly fettered in their ability to effectively
compete in elections and communicate with the public. Minor party campaigns typically
have scant political resources, including money, time and workers; electoral laws —
concerning registration thresholds, broadcasting time allotments and campaign
reimbursements — designed to promote fairness, disadvantage the system's weakest players; and subtle biases on the part of the press, debate organizers and potential donors
close important channels of communication.
Of these factors, money emerged as the most important, with media exposure — or
the lack of it — a close second in terms of determining a party's competitiveness. The
National Party, with superior resources, was often an exception to the above
characterization, but ultimately, media neglect sealed its fate as a marginal party.
Notwithstanding the great odds facing minor parties, winning is not impossible given the
right alignment of factors. The Reform Party did it in 1993, providing other small parties
with hope and an example to follow.
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3 |
Life at the fringes of Canadian federal politics: the experience of minor parties and their candidates during the 1993 general electionDrukier, Cindy Carol 11 1900 (has links)
This thesis marks the first attempt to systematically study Canadian minor parties. Minor
parties, as distinct from third parties, are those that acquire less than 5 percent of the
national vote (usually much less than one percent) and have never sent an MP to Ottawa.
We know little about parties as a group except that their numbers have steadily
proliferated over the last 20 years and that this growth shows no signs of abating. The
goal of this paper is fill the knowledge gap surrounding minor parties and to assess the
health of electoral democracy in Canada.
Specifically, nine minor parties are studied through the experiences of their
candidates during the 1993 federal election. The findings presented are based on data
collected from government sources and on surveys and interviews administered to a
sample of minor party candidates who ran in the greater Vancouver area.
The dissemination of political beliefs not represented in mainstream politics was
the dominant reason candidates gave for participating in elections. Winning is a long term
ambition, but not expected in the short run for the majority of parties. Despite their
modest aims, minor parties and candidates are unduly fettered in their ability to effectively
compete in elections and communicate with the public. Minor party campaigns typically
have scant political resources, including money, time and workers; electoral laws —
concerning registration thresholds, broadcasting time allotments and campaign
reimbursements — designed to promote fairness, disadvantage the system's weakest players; and subtle biases on the part of the press, debate organizers and potential donors
close important channels of communication.
Of these factors, money emerged as the most important, with media exposure — or
the lack of it — a close second in terms of determining a party's competitiveness. The
National Party, with superior resources, was often an exception to the above
characterization, but ultimately, media neglect sealed its fate as a marginal party.
Notwithstanding the great odds facing minor parties, winning is not impossible given the
right alignment of factors. The Reform Party did it in 1993, providing other small parties
with hope and an example to follow. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate
|
4 |
Campaigns, the media and insurgent success : the Reform party and the 1993 Canadian electionJenkins, Richard W. 11 1900 (has links)
It is well recognized that the 1993 election campaign catapulted the Reform party into the
national political scene, but our understanding of how this was possible is quite limited.
Drawing on the work in cognitive psychology on attitude change, the work on the news
media coverage of elections, and the political science work on election campaigns, this
thesis locates the impetus for Reform's success in the dynamic flow of information about
the party that was available in television news broadcasts and voters' likelihood of being
persuaded by that information. This link is developed by an analysis that makes use of a
content analysis of the 1993 campaign, the 1993 Canadian Election Study, and a merged
analysis of the election and news data.
The Reform party began the campaign as a minor component of the news coverage of the
election, but the news media coverage changed dramatically. Reform was provided with
more news access than its support indicated it deserved and that coverage focused on what
became a major theme of the election; the welfare state and the role of government.
Coverage of Reform underwent a further change as it both decreased and focused on
cultural issues during the last two weeks of the campaign. Using a two-mediator model of
attitude change, the analysis shows that people who were predisposed to agree with
Reform's anti-welfare state message and who were likely to be aware of the news
information, changed both their perceptions of the party and increased their support for the
party. Further support for the impact of the media is derived from the analysis of voter
response to the second change in news coverage.
The analysis suggests that campaigns do matter, but that the size of the impact is dependent
upon the underlying uncertainty associated with the parties and candidates, and on the
degree to which the information flow of the campaign changes. The information flow
contributes to both learning and priming among people who receive and accept new
information. While voters respond reasonably to new information, the outcome will
depend on what information voters are given and what information actually reaches the
habitually unaware segments of the population. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate
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