Email This StoryNegative coverage prominent in media, journalism panel says
April 8, 2008
By Charly Edsitty
Reporter
Barack Obama's pastor, Hilary Clinton's lack of femininity and John McCain's old age: the mudslinging is fully underway in the current presidential primaries.
The department of journalism has been conducting an ongoing study to assess the negativity in this year's presidential primaries and is sponsoring a panel discussion to report the findings.
The discussion, called "Not Ready to Play Nice: An Analysis of Negativity in the 2007-2008 Presidential Primaries," will be held at 6:30 p.m. today in the Baines Room of the Bill Daniel Student Center.
Two faculty members and three students will discuss the various types of negative media facing the current presidential hopefuls.
Dr. Mia Moody, journalism lecturer and one of the presenting faculty members, said the panel will serve two purposes: to inform Baylor community members so they can make an informed decision when voting and to highlight the research going on in the department.
"People need to be aware of the negativity so that when they get ready to vote they can make a good decision and not base it on the negativity they've heard, but on the positive attributes that the candidates have," Moody said.
Moody will be discussing traditional media, such as newspapers, broadcast news and magazines versus new media, such as blogs and personal Web sites.
"Traditional media has to focus on negativity because it has to compete," Moody said. "They don't want to be scooped by the new media."
Dr. Joseph Brown, an associate professor of political science, will provide a political science perspective and focus discussion on how gender and race play out in the media concerning senators Clinton and Obama.
"I will make some projections about the general election," Brown said. "And I will talk about the kinds of media issues that the democratic nominees may have to face in the general election."
In addition, Brown will also discuss where Clinton and Obama stand in regards to their delegate and super-delegate count.
Brown explained that negativity in campaigns is used strategically in order to distract both the public and the candidate.
"If a candidate is forced to address negative issues, rather than the issues they want to address, that gives the opponent an edge," Brown said.
Megan Malouf, a Conroe senior and a journalism major, is one of the students presenting during the panel and is responsible for coordinating the event.
Malouf has been researching various news releases made by Obama, Clinton and Rudy Giuliani between the months of September and October.
Malouf will report her findings along with the results of the study at the discussion.
"There was a lot of negativity," Malouf said. "It was shocking to see that was how they wanted to get people to vote for them."
Malouf said the research experience provided an opportunity for her to think in more depth about political tactics used in presidential campaigning.
"Negativity is what society thrives on," Malouf said. "And I think political candidates play that up."
A question and answer session will conclude the panel discussion and a reception will follow.
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