Last Man Standing
Media, Framing, and the 2012 Republican Primaries
Abstract
When Barack Obama was re-elected president in November 2012, his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, took the blame for being alternately too moderate or too conservative. Critics from both within and outside of his party claimed his vast wealth made him unappealing to voters and that his robotic persona meant he just could not connect. How, then, did he win the nomination? What happened during the twelve-month build-up to Romney being named the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party that helped define him as both a man and a candidate? Furthermore, how did media coverage frame his competitors and the race itself, a contest characterized by its rollercoaster nature?
Last Man Standing examines mainstream media coverage of the 2012 Republican primary season to identify and examine the frames used to make sense of the candidates and the race. Through an exhaustive analysis of candidate-related coverage from six major media outlets (The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post for newspapers; CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC for cable news networks), Coombs weaves her examination of media frames into a compelling narrative reconstruction of the 2012 primary season.
This book features:
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Exhaustive analysis of mainstream media coverage over a twelve-month period
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Smart, insightful exploration of media frames
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Chronological structure, which allows for analysis to address how frames shift with candidate’s fortunes
Schlagworte
Political Communication Campaigns and Elections Media and Politics- i–x Preface i–x
- 11–38 2 Unsettled Field 11–38
- 91–118 5 The Final Stretch 91–118
- 119–144 6 Voting Begins 119–144
- 145–162 7 Last Man Standing 145–162
- 163–170 8 Conclusion 163–170
- 171–178 Appendix 171–178
- 179–180 Bibliography 179–180
- 181–182 Index 181–182