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Campaigns, Images and Polls: Mass Media Coverage of the 1984 Canadian Election*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2009

R. H. Wagenberg ,
W. C. Soderlund ,
W. I. Romanow  and
E. D. Briggs
R. H. Wagenberg
Affiliation:
University of Windsor
W. C. Soderlund
Affiliation:
University of Windsor
W. I. Romanow
Affiliation:
University of Windsor
E. D. Briggs
Affiliation:
University of Windsor
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Abstract

Short-term factors played a greater than usual role in the 1984 national election. Media coverage of the campaign therefore had a crucial impact. This study documents the coverage of leaders, parties and substantive issues by the major television and radio networks and 18 newspapers selected by region and language. A major finding is that the media reported results of public opinion polls to an unprecedented degree. This was one facet of the featuring of “horserace” issues over more substantive socio-economic ones. The data lend credence to the fears of those who feel that essential democratic goals of the electoral process are being undermined. The study also suggests rethinking the “no effects” theory of polling and electoral behaviour.

Résumé

Quelques facteurs immédiats ont joué un rôle plus important que prévu dans l'élection fédérale de 1984. Ainsi en est-il de 1'impact décisif du traitement de la campagne par les médias. Qu'il s'agisse de la radio, de la télévision et des journaux (dont 18 ont été sélectionnés selon la région et la langue), ils sont ici considérés du point de vue du traitement qu'ils ont accordé aux leaders, aux partis et à leur grands thèmes. En particulier, il y resort une importance jamais vue accordée par les médias à la publication des résultats des sondages. Ce qui montre à quell point l'accent est davantage mis sur la « course à la victoire » que sur les grands sujets d'intérêt socio-économique. Cette étude indique également qu'il faut repenser la théorie selon laquelle les sondages n'ont pas d'impact sur le comportement électoral.

Type
Notes
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , March 1988 , pp. 117 - 130
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1988

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References

1 The connection is well stated by Richard Joslyn: “For the majority [of the population] awareness of an election campaign is entirely mediated, and campaign coverage is the only alternative for understanding electoral choices.” See Joslyn, Richard, Mass Media and Elections (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1984), 100.Google Scholar

2 Berkman, Ronald and Kitch, Laura W., Politics in the Media Age (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986), 109.Google Scholar

3 For a discussion of long-term and short-terms forces, see Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip E., Miller, Warren E. and Stokes, Donald E., The American Voter (New York: John Wiley, 1960), 24–32;Google ScholarDreyer, Edward C. and Rosenbaum, Walter A., Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior (Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing, 1966), 21–30;Google ScholarMcCombs, Maxwell E. and Shaw, Donald L., “The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media,” Public Opinion Quarterly 36 (1972), 176-87;CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Donald E. Stokes, “Party Loyalty and the Likelihood of Deviating Elections,” in Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip, Miller, Warren E. and Stokes, Donald E., Elections and Political Order (New York: John Wiley, 1966), 125-35.Google Scholar

4 Barry J. Kay, Steven D. Brown, James E. Curtis, Ronald D. Lambert, John M. Wilson, “The Character of Electoral Change: A Preliminary Report from the 1984 National Election Study,” paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Montreal, 1985, 54; and note 15, 58–59.

5 Soderlund, W. C., Romanow, W. I., Briggs, E. D., Wagenberg, R. H., Media and Elections in Canada (Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984), chaps. 3 and 4.Google Scholar

6 Jon Pammett presents data for the 1974, 1979 and 1980 elections indicating reasons given for voting. Whereas “party” led in mentions in 1974, “leadership” was most often cited in 1979 and 1980. See Jon Pammett, “Elections,” in Whittington, Michael S. and Williams, Glen (eds.), Canadian Politics in the 1980s (2nd ed.; Toronto: Methuen, 1984), 273,Google Scholar Table 12.1.

7 Kay, et al., “The Character of Electoral Change,” 3, Figure 1.

8 Newspapers surveyed are: Evening Telegram (St. John's), Guardian (Charlottetown), Chronicle-Herald (Halifax), Telegraph-Journal (Saint John), Le Soleil (Quebec City), Le Devoir (Montreal), La Presse (Montreal), Gazette (Montreal), Le Droit (Ottawa), Citizen (Ottawa), Toronto Star (Toronto), Globe and Mail (Toronto), London Free Press, Windsor Star, Free Press (Winnipeg), Leader-Post (Regina), Edmonton Journal and Sun (Vancouver).

9 Inter-coder reliability was 82 per cent. See Holsti, Ole R., Content Analysis for the Social Sciences and Humanities (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1969), 140.Google Scholar

10 Soderlund, , et al., Media and Elections, 133-34.Google Scholar Previously, polling ranked fourth among issues in electronic coverage of the 1979 campaign and ninth among issues in newspaper coverage of the 1980 campaign.

11 Ibid., 58–60,85–87. We speculate that if the NDP improves its performance in the polls to the point that it becomes a potential governing party, NDP media coverage will follow the pattern accorded the Liberals and Conservatives; that is, as the party's policies are subject to closer scrutiny, their evaluation will become more critical.

12 Merrill, John C., “How Time Stereotyped Three U.S. Presidents,” Journalism Quarterly 42 (1965), 563-70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

13 The specific words and phrases used to describe the three leaders, along with their coding, are available from the authors on request.

14 Soderlund, , et al., Media and Elections, 67–69, 87–90.Google Scholar

15 For the views of John Crosbie, minister of finance in the Clark government, on such an episode, see Crosbie, John, “Politics and the Media: Is the Public Well Served?” in Politics and the Media: An Examination of Issues Raised by the Quebec Referendum and the 1979 and 1980 Federal Elections (Toronto: Reader's Digest Foundation, 1981), 10.Google Scholar

16 Hennessy, Bernard, Public Opinion (4th ed.; Monterey, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing, 1981), 92–93.Google Scholar For a summary of this argument in the Canadian context, see Fletcher, Frederick J., The Newspaper and Public Affairs, vol. 7, research study for the Royal Commission on Newspapers (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1981), 90–92.Google Scholar

17 Wald, Kenneth D., “The Closeness-Turnout Hypothesis: A Reconsideration,” American Politics Quarterly 13 (1985), 273-96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

18 See Worcester, Robert M., “The Polls: Britain at the Polls 1945–1983,” Public Opinion Quarterly 48 (1984), 824–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

19 Ibid. See also Worcester's earlier study concerning the electorate and polls: “Pollsters, the Press, and Political Polling in Britain,” Public Opinion Quarterly 44 (1980), 548–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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21 Roper, Burns W., “Evaluating Polls With Poll Data,” Public Opinion Quarterly 50 (1986), 11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

22 Roper, Burns W., “Early Election Calls: The Greater Dangers,” Public Opinion Quarterly 49 (1985), 6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

23 Roper, “Evaluating Polls,” 10.

24 Halford, Peter, den Hoven, Adrien van, Soderlund, W. C., and Romanow, W. I., “A Media Tale of Two Cities: Quebec Referendum Coverage in Montreal and Toronto,” Canadian Journal of Communication 9 (1983), 18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

25 Kay, et al. found that 78 per cent of their sample felt that Mulroney won the debates (“The Character of Electoral Change,” 23, note 16, and 59).