Media Coverage of the 2012 Presidential Election Analysis

Introduction: A Divided Nation and a Contentious Election

The diverse and sometimes ugly stories, attacks, and reports published in print and broadcast across media — including electronic media — during the 2012 U.S. presidential election campaign reflect just how divided the nation had become. These stories and ads say as much about the moral state of America, and about how out-of-control politically motivated money had grown, as they do about the campaign or the candidates. Rarely in recent American history have conservatives and progressives been so bitterly divided, attacking one another with such fierce antipathy — particularly in the form of conservative attacks against progressives. Nor had there previously been an election in which millions of dollars flowed into campaign coffers from corporations and individuals with zero accountability as to the source.

Some observers suggest that because President Barack Obama is an African-American, those opposed to him have been particularly virulent in their attacks. Others argue this election is really about two competing ideologies: those who are conservative — generally anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, and skeptical of the scientific consensus on global warming and evolution — versus those who are progressive, tending to be pro-choice, supportive of same-sex marriage, and accepting of empirically driven science. These issues had been simmering for years, and were coming to a head with Obama symbolizing, for the right wing, the Tea Party, the GOP, and conservative Christians, all that they believed was wrong with America.

This election process brought bitterly opposing social and ideological divisions into public view through the media, which itself was taking sides — but in ways far more potentially harmful to democratic ideals than in previous cycles. This paper reviews and critically analyzes the media's role, and the role of money interests, in the contest between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama.

Three central questions guide the analysis: (a) What role should the media play in presidential elections? (b) What has been the role of media in recent elections? (c) What role is the media currently playing in the 2012 presidential election, which is being unduly influenced — and arguably corrupted — by an avalanche of murky money sources made possible by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision?

Literature Review: Media and Recent Presidential Elections

An article in the peer-reviewed journal MIS Quarterly (Wattal et al., 2010) points to the evolution of digital media as an important element in the 2008 presidential election. Looking back to 1948, Wattal notes that President Harry Truman tried a strategy that had not previously been used — he logged 21,928 miles in four months aboard a train. It was the "whistle-stop" approach, and many observers believe it tipped the electoral scales in his favor. Truman reached out to people who would never previously have been in a position to see a sitting president campaign in their town.

The authors then fast-forward to 2008, when Barack Obama reached out to millions of people through electronic means — video sharing, blogs, and text messaging — giving online users the ability to interact directly with the campaign, receive information without the intermediary of television, radio, or newspapers, and become directly involved. Supporters could make campaign contributions through www.mybarackobama.com or take instructions from the campaign to set up neighborhood phone banks and participate in organized voter outreach around the country (Wattal, 670).

Researchers referenced by Wattal note that while Truman's campaign was about places, Obama's campaign was about spaces, as it "moved to the space of mybarackobama.com" (671). The authors correctly noted that Obama was savvy in leveraging digital media because "candidates arguably have very little direct control of traditional media or Web publications" (675). But candidates can create their own world on YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace and through supporter-produced blogs, reducing their dependence on what traditional media says about them.

The authors conclude with a pointed question: "Will the Internet change the form of political discourse? Has the form of discourse changed the content, or are voters simply moving from shouting slogans on streets to slogans on the Web?" (Wattal, 682). Their answer is that "the Internet, and especially the blogosphere, can influence the campaign process and the results of elections," and may "foster a new generation of politicians who ignore 'big money' tactics in favor of grassroots campaigns" (Wattal, 683).

Works Cited

Badash, David. (2012). Gun Pointed at Obama's Head in Sen. Rand Paul's Fraudulent Fundraiser. The New Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved June 1, 2012, from http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com.

Boehlert, Eric. (2012). Birthers, Billionaires and FOX: The GOP Freak Show in Full Effect. Media Matters for America. Retrieved June 2, 2012, from http://mediamatters.org.

Kramer, Melody. (2010). 'Citizens United' Ruling Opened Floodgates on Groups' Ad Spending. National Public Radio. Retrieved June 2, 2012, from http://www.npr.org.

Little Tboca. (2012). Conservative Bloggers Working Together to Take Back America. Retrieved June 1, 2012.

Stone, Peter H. (2012). Koch Brothers Plan to Funnel Tens of Millions to Conservative Allies to Influence 2012 Elections. Huff Post Politics. Retrieved June 1, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com.

Tucker, Anne. (2011). Flawed Assumptions: A Corporate Law Analysis of Free Speech and Corporate Personhood in Citizens United. Case Western Reserve Law Review, 61(2), 497–550.

Wattal, Sunil, Schuff, David, Mandiviwalla, Munir, and Williams, Christine B. (2010). Web 2.0 and Politics: The 2008 U.S. Presidential Election and an E-Politics Research Agenda. MIS Quarterly, 34(4), 669–688.

Wiist, William H. (2011). Citizens United, Public Health, and Democracy: The Supreme Court Ruling, Its Implications, and Proposed Action. American Journal of Public Health, 101(7), 1172–1178.

Wing, Nick. (2012). Rand Paul Backs Gun Campaign Featuring Image of Rifle Pointing at Obama's Head. Huffington Post. Retrieved June 1, 2012, from http://huffingtonpost.com.

Zurbriggen, Eileen L., and Sherman, Aurora M. (2010). Race and Gender in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election: A Content Analysis of Editorial Cartoons. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 10(1), 223–247.