2024 03 13 AZ GOP LD4 Gen Meeting Minutes_FINAL.docx
Heim
1. Live Tweeting a Presidential
Primary Debate:
Kyle Heim
Assistant Professor
Seton Hall University
Email: krheim@gmail.com
International Symposium
on Online Journalism
April 18, 2015
Comparing the Content of Twitter
Posts and News Coverage
2.
3. News coverage
of presidential politics
Three stages of news coverage:
1960s: Emphasis on candidates’ policy
statements
1970s: “Strategy” coverage
1988 onward: Media-focused “metacoverage”
Shift toward strategy, metacoverage blamed for
increasing political cynicism
4. Research questions
How did the Twitter stream from the Iowa
primary debate compare with news coverage
and the debate itself in the discussion of policy
and character?
How did the Twitter stream from the Iowa
primary debate compare with news coverage in
the use of strategy coverage and media-
focused metacoverage?
5. Dec. 10, 2011, Iowa GOP
primary debate
Sample of texts:
Debate transcript
Newspaper, wire
service coverage
3,032 tweets
Methods:
Quantitative centering resonance analysis (CRA) to
identify most influential words
Qualitative textual analysis
7. News coverage
Most influential words
included …
Strategy-oriented words:
poll
rival
attack
Policy-oriented words:
health, care
Palestinian, Israel
economy
8. Twitter discussion
Most influential words
included …
References to Mitt
Romney’s bet offer:
tenthousand
dollar
Media-oriented words:
Diane, Sawyer
ABC, #ABCdebate
9. Results
Discussion of policy:
Policy was central to the debate and news
coverage but NOT on Twitter.
However, Twitter users tried to raise policy
issues not being addressed in the debate.
10. Results
Discussion of character:
Twitter discussion was dominated by Mitt
Romney’s $10,000 bet offer and what it said
about Romney’s character.
11. Results
Use of strategy coverage:
Twitter discussion was dominated by strategy.
Debate was framed as a boxing match, circus,
pageant.
12. Results
Use of media-focused metacoverage:
Twitter discussion focused heavily on the role of
the ABC moderators.
13. Implications
Twitter less substantive than news coverage
(emphasis on strategy over policy)
Reliance on Twitter could increase political
cynicism
Twitter not a substitute for news coverage;
“gatekeepers” and “curators” needed
14. Implications
Twitter discussion as a critique of the staged,
artificial nature of political debates
Twitter discussion as backlash against political
agenda driven by candidates, news media
15. Kyle Heim, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication and the Arts
Seton Hall University
Email: krheim@gmail.com
Twitter: @krheim