In the 1990s, presidential election campaigns have become more candidate centered and less focused on issues and party labels. The change has been attributed both to how the media cover presidential campaigns and to how candidates use the media.
The media has contributed to candidate-centered presidential campaigns through coverage of the background of the candidates and talk shows and televised debates. The background of candidates can sometimes be biased which could lead to voters changing their minds about the candidates because of where they came from or who they associated themselves with. Televised debates allow the people to see how the candidates present themselves. Allowing them to see this can lead to more of a focus on the person characteristics more so than their ideals, which leads go a more candidate-centered campaign.
Presidential candidates' use of the media has contributed to candidate-centered campaigns through negative commercials targeting their opponent and image building. These examples provide the people with ample information about the candidates, but when they are on talk shows, their personalities show more than their ideals and opinions. They shift the focus from the race to the person, from merit to characteristics. Negative commercials have become a huge part of elections. The constant slander tends to confuse voters who end up not voting because they don't know what to believe. Both of these lead to a candidate-centered campaign.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_gov_pol_us_99.up_7047.pdf
Identify and explain two ways in which the media have contributed to candidate-centered presidential campaigns.
Identify and explain two ways in which presidential candidates’ use of the media has contributed to candidate-centered campaigns.
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