Global patterns of virtual mudslinging? The use of attacks on German party websites in state, national and European parliamentary elections

German Politics

Volumn 19, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 200-221

  Schweitzer, Eva Johanna ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 79956247065     PISSN: 09644008     EISSN: 17438993     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09644001003774149     Document Type: Article

References (131)

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36. For empirical evidence on the importance of party websites in German e-campaigning, see: BITKOM (Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und neue Medien e.V.), 'Das Internet wird wahlentscheidend' [The Internet Gets Crucial for Campaigning], available at http://www. bitkom.org/files/documents/BITKOM_Presseinfo_E-Democracy_19_08_2009_final2.pdf (accessed 21 Aug. 2009).
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38. Thomas Zittel, 'Lost in Technology? Political Parties and the Online Campaigns of Constituency Candidates in Germany's Mixed Member Electoral System', Journal of Information Technology and Politics 6/3-4 (2009), pp.298-311.
39. For the development and main characteristics of German e-campaigning see Eva Johanna Schweitzer, 'Germany: Online Campaign Professionalism in the 2002 and 2005 National Elections', in Ward et al. (eds.), Making a Difference. A Comparative View of the Role of the Internet in Election Politics, pp.235-55.
40. Eva Johanna Schweitzer, 'Election Campaigning Online. German Party Websites in the 2002 National Elections', European Journal of Communication 20/3 (2005), pp.327-51.
41. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Packaging the Presidency. A History and Criticism of Presidential Campaign Advertising (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996).
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43. Lynda Lee Kaid, 'Ethical Dimensions of Political Advertising', in Robert E. Denton, Jr. (ed.), Ethical Dimensions of Political Communication (New York: Praeger, 1991), p.157.
44. Mark, Going Dirty, p.3.
45. Cf. Richard R. Lau, Lee Sigelman, Caroline Heldman and Paul Babbitt, 'The Effects of Negative Political Advertising. A Meta-Analytic Assessment', American Political Science Review 93/4 (1999), pp.851-75.
46. Michael Pfau and Henry C. Kenski, Attack Politics. Strategy and Defense (New York: Praeger, 1990).
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48. Glenn W. Richardson, Jr., 'Looking for Meaning in all the Wrong Places. Why Negative Advertising is a Suspect Category', Journal of Communication 51/4 (2001), pp.775-800.
49. Some scholars have pointed out that political attacks can also be transmitted via visual cues, particularly in television spots, in that they include unfavourable portrayals of the opponent, implied associations with undesirable persons, groups, symbols, or events as well as visual dramatisations, computerised alteration techniques, subliminal messages, or negative labeling (e.g. Kaid, 'Ethical Dimensions of Political Advertising', p.153). Since these means are difficult to detect and to classify in a reliable and intersubjective manner, most researchers have consciously restricted their analyses to explicit verbal criticism. This practice will also be adopted in the present study.
50. E.g. Basil et al., 'Positive and Negative Political Advertising', p.247.
51. Geer, In Defense of Negativity, p.23.
52. Procter and Schenck-Hamlin, 'Form and Variations in Negative Political Advertising', p.147.
53. Mark, Going Dirty, p.2.
54. Darren G. Lilleker, Key Concepts in Political Communication (London: Sage, 2006), p.127.
55. Cf. Karen S. Johnson-Cartee and Gary A. Copeland, Negative Political Advertising. Coming of Age (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1991), p.25.
56. Judith S. Trent and Robert V. Friedenberg, Political Campaign Communication. Principles and Practices, 6th ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008), p.169.
57. Cf. e.g. Craig L. Brians and Martin P. Wattenberg, 'Campaign Issue Knowledge and Salience. Comparing Reception from TV Commercials, TV News, and Newspapers', American Journal of Political Science 40/1 (1996), pp.172-93.
58. Kim L. Fridkin and Patrick J. Kenney, 'Do Negative Messages Work? The Impact of Negativity on Citizens' Evaluation of Candidates', American Politics Research 32/5 (2004), pp.570-605.
59. Gina M. Garramone, 'Voter Responses to Negative Political Ads', Journalism Quarterly 61/2 (1984), pp.250-59.
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63. Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck, 'New Modes of Campaigning', in Russell J. Dalton and Hans-Dieter Klingemann (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), p.747.
64. Ralph Negrine, 'The Professionalisation of Political Communication in Europe', in Negrine et al. (eds.), The Professionalisation of Political Communication, p.34. For a general critique of the term 'professionalisation' see also Patrick Donges, 'Amerikanisierung, Professionalisierung, Modernisierung? Anmerkungen zu einigen amorphen Begriffen', in Klaus Kamps (ed.), Trans-Atlantik-Trans-Portabel? Die Amerikanisierungsthese in der politischen Kommunikation (Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag, 2000), pp.27-40.
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68. Plasser, 'American Campaign Techniques Worldwide', p.36. For theoretical models concerned with the international diffusion of campaign knowledge see also Dan Caspi, 'American-Style Electioneering in Israel. Americanization Versus Modernization', in Swanson and Mancini (eds.), Politics, Media, and Modern Democracy, p.176.
69. E.g. Kirsten A. Foot and Steven M. Schneider, Web Campaigning (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006).
70. Christine B. Williams, Andrew Aylesworth and Kenneth J. Chapman, 'The 2000 E-Campaign for U.S. Senate', Journal of Political Marketing 1/4 (2002), pp.39-63.
71. Cf. Manuela Baldauf, Wahlkampf im Web. Eine Untersuchung der offiziellen Webseiten von George W. Bush und Al Gore im US-Präsidentschaftswahlkampf 2000 (Wiesbaden: DUV, 2002), p.119.
72. Robert J. Klotz, 'Virtual Criticism: Negative Advertising on the Internet in the 1996 Senate Races', Political Communication 15/3 (1998), p.354.
73. Robert H. Wicks, Boubacar Souley and Rebecca M. Verser, 'Differences and Similarities in Use of Campaign Websites During the 2000 Presidential Election', in Lynda Lee Kaid et al. (eds.), The Millennium Election. Communication in the 2000 Campaign (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003), p.195.
74. For an overview, see Procter and Schenck-Hamlin, 'Form and Variations in Negative Political Advertising'.
75. Richard Davis, The Web of Politics. The Internet's Impact on the American Political System (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), p.102.
76. Druckman et al., 'Going Negative in a New Media Age: Congressional Campaign Websites, 2002-2006', p.17.
77. Robert H. Wicks and Boubacar Souley, 'Going Negative: Candidate Usage of Internet Websites During the 2000 Presidential Campaign', Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 80/1 (2003), pp.128-44.
78. see also Wicks et al., 'Differences and Similarities in Use of Campaign Websites During the 2000 Presidential Election'.
79. Boubacar Souley and Robert H. Wicks, 'Tracking the 2004 Presidential Campaign Websites. Similarities and Differences', American Behavioral Scientist 49/4 (2005), pp.535-47.
80. Andrew Paul Williams, Monica Postelnicu and Justin D. Martin, 'Online Campaign Trends in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election', Business Research Yearbook 24/1 (2007), p.204.
81. E.g. William L. Benoit, P.M. Pier, and Joseph R. Blaney, 'A Functional Approach to Televised Political Spots. Acclaiming, Attacking, Defending', Communication Quarterly 45/1 (1997), pp.1-20.
82. Geer, In Defense of Negativity.
83. Jon F. Hale, Jeffrey C. Fox and Rick Farmer, 'Negative Advertisements in U.S. Senate Campaigns. The Influence of Campaign Context', Social Science Quarterly 77/2 (1996), pp.329-43.
84. Richard R. Lau and Gerald M. Pomper, 'Negative Campaigning by US Senate Candidates', Party Politics 7/1 (2001), pp.69-87.
85. David A.M. Peterson and Paul A. Djupe, 'When Primary Campaigns Go Negative. The Determinants of Campaign Negativity', Political Research Quarterly 58/1 (2005), pp.45-54.
86. Benoit, 'A Functional Analysis of Political Advertising across Media, 1998'.
87. Karen James and Jeffrey D. Sadow, 'Utilization of the World Wide Web as a Communicator of Campaign Information', paper presented at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 1997, Washington, DC, USA.
88. Klotz, 'Virtual Criticism: Negative Advertising on the Internet in the 1996 Senate Races'.
89. Druckman et al., 'Going Negative in a New Media Age: Congressional Campaign Websites, 2002-2006', p.15f.
90. Souley and Wicks, 'Tracking the 2004 Presidential Campaign Websites. Similarities and Differences', p.543.
91. Mary Christine Banwart, 'Webstyles in 2004. The Gendering of Candidates on Campaign Websites?', in Williams and Tedesco (eds.), The Internet Election. Perspectives on the Web in Campaign 2004, p.44.
92. Wicks and Souley, 'Going Negative: Candidate Usage of Internet Websites During the 2000 Presidential Campaign', p.138.
93. Baldauf, Wahlkampf im Web, p.129.
94. Souley and Wicks, 'Tracking the 2004 Presidential Campaign Websites. Similarities and Differences', p.542.
95. For empirical evidence on this mechanism, see e.g. Amy E. Jasperson and David P. Fan, 'An Aggregate Examination of the Backlash Effect in Political Advertising. The Case of the 1996 U.S. Senate Race in Minnesota', Journal of Advertising 31/1 (2002), pp.1-12.
96. Neal J. Roese and Gerald N. Sande, 'Backlash Effects in Attack Politics', Journal of Applied Social Psychology 23/8 (1993), pp.632-53.
97. Klotz, 'Virtual Criticism: Negative Advertising on the Internet in the 1996 Senate Races', p.356.
98. William L. Benoit, Communication in Political Campaigns (New York: Peter Lang, 2007), p.93.
99. Wicks and Souley, 'Going Negative: Candidate Usage of Internet Websites During the 2000 Presidential Campaign', p.140f.
100. Souley and Wicks, 'Tracking the 2004 Presidential Campaign Websites. Similarities and Differences', p.542.
101. Wicks and Souley, 'Going Negative: Candidate Usage of Internet Websites During the 2000 Presidential Campaign', p.140f.
102. Souley and Wicks, 'Tracking the 2004 Presidential Campaign Websites. Similarities and Differences', p.542.
103. Cf. Daniel C. Hallin, 'Sound Bite News. Television Coverage of Elections, 1968-1988', Journal of Communication 42/2 (1992), pp.5-24.
104. Erik P. Bucy and Maria Elizabeth Grabe, 'Taking Television Seriously. A Sound and Image Bite Analysis of Presidential Campaign Coverage, 1992-2004', Journal of Communication 57/4 (2007), pp.652-75.
105. E.g. Lynda Lee Kaid, 'Political Web Wars. The Use of the Internet for Political Advertising', in Williams and Tedesco (eds.), The Internet Election. Perspectives on the Web in Campaign 2004, p.71.
106. Cf. Thomas Lee Budesheim, David A. Houston and Stephen J. DePaola, 'Persuasiveness of In-Group and Out-Group Political Messages. The Case of Negative Political Campaigning', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70/3 (1996), pp.523-34.
107. Fridkin and Kenney, 'Do Negative Messages Work?'.
108. Spencer F. Tinkham and Ruth Anne Weaver-Lariscy, 'A Diagnostic Approach to Assessing the Impact of Negative Political Television Commercials', Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 37/3 (1993), pp.377-99.
109. Cf. Davis, The Web of Politics. The Internet's Impact on the American Political System, p.100.
110. Foot and Schneider, Web Campaigning, p.158.
111. Williams et al., 'The 2000 E-Campaign for U.S. Senate', p.47.
112. Dianne G. Bystrom et al., Gender and Candidate Communication. VideoStyle, WebStyle, NewsStyle (New York: Routledge, 2004), p.125.
113. Druckman et al., 'Going Negative in a New Media Age: Congressional Campaign Websites, 2002-2006'.
114. Wicks and Souley, 'Going Negative: Candidate Usage of Internet Websites During the 2000 Presidential Campaign', p.194f.
115. Souley and Wicks, 'Tracking the 2004 Presidential Campaign Websites. Similarities and Differences', p.453.
116. Ian McAllister, 'The Personalization of Politics', in Dalton and Klingemann (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior, pp.571-88.
117. Benoit, 'A Functional Analysis of Political Advertising Across Media, 1998', p.286.
118. Wicks and Souley, 'Going Negative: Candidate Usage of Internet Websites During the 2000 Presidential Campaign', p.137.
119. Baldauf, Wahlkampf im Web, p.125.
120. Cf. Souley and Wicks, 'Tracking the 2004 Presidential Campaign Websites. Similarities and Differences', p.545.
121. Trammell et al., 'Evolution of Online Campaigning', p.36.
122. Adam Przeworksi and Henry Teune, The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry (New York: Wiley-Interscience, 1970), pp.34-9.
123. E.g. Druckman et al., 'Going Negative in a New Media Age: Congressional Campaign Websites, 2002-2006', p.429f.
124. Ward, 'Introduction', pp.9-11.
125. A random selection of 5 per cent of the material from each election has been recoded to determine the intracoder reliability. Similar to past American studies on online negativity, Holsti's formula was applied to compute the respective reliability coefficients. In the present analysis, the coefficients ranged between 0.83 and 1.0.
126. Cf. e.g. Carolyn L. Funk, 'Bringing the Candidate into Models of Candidate Evaluation', Journal of Politics 61/3 (1999), pp.700-720.
127. Susan A. Hellweg, George N. Dionisopoulos and Drew B. Kugler, 'Political Candidate Image: A State-of-the-Art Review', in Brenda Dervin and Melvin J. Voigt (eds.), Progress in Communication Sciences. Vol. IX (Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing, 1989), pp.43-78.
128. Dan Nimmo and Robert L. Savage, Candidates and Their Images. Concepts, Methods, and Findings (Pacific Palisades, CA: Goodyear, 1976).
129. Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini, Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp.67-8, 143-97.
130. Jens Tenscher, 'Professionalisierung nach Wahl: Ein Vergleich der Parteikampagnen im Rahmen der jüngsten Bundestags-und Europawahlen in Deutschland', in Frank Brettschneider, Oskar Niedermayer and Bernhard Weßels (eds.), Die Bundestagswahl 2005. Analysen des Wahlkampfes und der Wahlergebnisse (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2007), pp.65-95.
131. Schneider et al. 'Epilogue. Reflecting on Elections and the Web', p.263.