Crosstalk: citizens, candidates, and the media in a presidential campaign

This analysis of the 1992 US presidential campaign looks at how citizens use information in the media to make their voting decisions and how politicians and the media interact to shape that information. Examining political advertisements, news coverage, ad watches and talk shows in Los Angeles, Boston, Winston-Salem, and Fargo/Moorhead, the authors chart the impact of different information environments on citizens and show how people developed images of candidates over the course of the campaign. The text also presents evidence that campaigns do matter, that citizens are active participants in the campaign process, and that their perceptions of a candidate's character is the central factor in the voting process. Although the focus is on the 1992 presidential race, the study is intended to contribute to understanding of campaigns in general, and show how election campaigns can play an important role in the long-term vitality of democracy.