The media is power force that has gained more ground and impact over time. Perhaps what makes this such an important tool is the fact that over decades the expansion of technology has made the news media vastly accessible to much broader audiences. In the midst of honoring the right to exercise free speech and press, the news media can be used for both positive and negative purposes. Unfortunately, many promote using negative aspects, and this is highlighted particularly in instances of political campaigning. The negative effects of the media take a damaging toll on campaigns and candidates on a regular basis. These tactics prove damaging to candidates and voters alike.
There are various types of negative tactics used by the media in regard to highlighting a campaign or candidate such as mudslinging, slander and libel, and advertisements. These tactics serve the purpose of juxtaposing, attacking, or both. Through a juxtaposition, candidates are weighed against one another in terms of policy, political background, and personal background. This comparison often sheds a more negative light on one candidate while painting the other in a more favorable light through contrast. It is as if one candidate serves as a foil to the other. This tactic, though negative, is less damaging to both the targeted candidate in question and the media.
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Attacking a candidate is often carried out with harsh accusations with the most negative qualities emphasized. This is the riskiest because some of the accusations may not be accurate, and in that case, those in the media can be subject to violating the laws of slander and libel. Failure to carry out an accurate attack can cause voters to see the media outlets as unreliable and biased, “… campaign coverage, governed by a deeply cynical view of politics and politicians, threatens the media’s ability to make a constructive contribution to the electoral dialogue” (Min, 2004, p. 97). Most importantly, these attacks often harm the overall reputation of the targeted candidate. In some cases, this causes considerable damage to the political reputation of the target than can be irreversible such as causing the target to lose a valuable pool of voters, and most importantly it can cause the loss of an election. Over the past few decades many such as Michael Dukakis, Hilary Clinton, John McCain, and Al Gore have lost elections in part due to media coverage and portrayal.
Despite the tactic, negative coverage of campaigns and candidates can come about in more than one way. Naturally, major political events are covered by the media and other free press to serve as sources on information for the general public; however, there are instances where the reach of information is not as broad. In order to spur the expansion of coverage for certain campaigns or candidates it is not uncommon for the media to use tactics in order to draw the attention of voters. Many believe that no press is bad press because it is true that negativity spreads farther and faster than positivity. The 1950s brought about a turn of events that allowed politicians to begin using media tactics with the use of television ads and specials. Modern day media influences also include the social media, digital ads, and feeds. It is also not uncommon for candidates to stage events for the media in order to gain a reaction, “At the same time, candidates often employ attack strategies because they believe that negative campaigns are more likely to attract free coverage” (Min, 2004, p. 97). Using the media creates shock value that presses voters to pay attention.
In an effort to push voters to the polls, news media coverage can often become overbearing and cynical which can push away more voters than it attracts. In the 1990 article “Effects of Negative Political Advertising on the Political Process by Gina M. Garramone, Charles Atkin, Bruce Pinkleton, and Richard Cole, there is an analysis and discussion over the negative impact of political advertising by the media. Of the variables discussed, the two most prevalent impacts are more attitude polarization and image discrimination. The greatest example of these are the 2008 presidential election and the 2016 presidential election. During the 2008 election, the media exploded with coverage surrounding Barack Obama and John McCain, and much publicity stemmed from continuous social media ads, announcements, and even commercials endorsed by both candidates. This influx was spurred by negativity which caused attitude polarization amongst the masses as well as image discrimination because of propaganda. The 2016 election between Donald Trump and Hilary was even more so filled with media coverage; however, it did not balance with the amount of voter turnout.
Although the media is used as a tool and plays an important role of portraying information to the masses, it is damaging because it parallels as a hindrance. The past few presidential elections prove that there has been a significant decline in voter turnout at the voting polls, “… negative political advertising demobilizes citizens, especially nonpartisan independents, by making them antipathetic toward politicians and the political process and by weakening their sense of political efficacy” (Min, 2004, p. 97-98). Many would argue that the media portrays politics as if it is something superficial to be spectated. This drives away the sense that voters are not truly in a democracy and have little power, so voter frustrations build.
In all, the news media has become extremely vast in its ability to reach a broad range of individuals. This is due to the ever-changing developments in technology; however, one thing that has not changed is the media’s ability to create a negative impact on campaigns and candidates. Media tactics create a sense of spectatorship for voters who are gradually becoming distanced from participating in politics. This leads to losing faith in democracy, damaging the reputations of candidates, and the loss of faith in the media itself.
- Garramone, G. M., Atkin, C. K., Pinkleton, B. E., & Cole, R. T. (1990). Effects of negative political advertising on the political process. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 34(3), 299-311. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jbem34&div=32&id=&page=
- Min, Y. (2004). News coverage of negative political campaigns: An experiment of negative campaign effects on turnout and candidate preference. Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 9(4), 95-111. Retrieved from http://site.iugaza.edu.ps
