A Study of Press Coverage of the 1993 and 1997 Alberta Provincial Elections
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 1999 Conflict or collaboration?: a study of press coverage of the 1993 and 1997 Alberta provincial elections Klinkhammer, Ruth Klinkhammer, R. (1999). Conflict or collaboration?: a study of press coverage of the 1993 and 1997 Alberta provincial elections (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/20915 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/25120 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Conflict or CoIlaboration?: A Study of Press Coverage of the 1993 and 1997 Alberta Provincial Elections A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA MAY, 1999 0 Ruth KlinkhanmKr 1999 National Library Bibliotheque nationale 191 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Ottawa ON K1 A ON4 Canada Canada Your hk Vorre niUrsnce Our I% Norre reMrence The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prster, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format eiectronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to contriibute to a fuller understanding of how the media cover provincial election campaigns in Alberta, The two primary objectives of this study are to (1) determine if press coverage of the 1993 and 1997 Alberta provincial elections provided the electorate with the information it needed to make iaformed decisions, and (2) to test the political spectaclehegemony theory and the hypothesis that journalists are overly-critical and hestories strategically. The results of a content analysis of a sample of newspaper articles collected fiom the 1993 and 1997 campaigns suggest that news coverage was hegemonic and that the majority of stories were placed in strategic fkmes. However, news was overwhelmingly neutral, not negative. The study concludes that because the majority of stories focused on the elections as races and the leaders as contestants, less news was devoted to important issues. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been started or completed without the advice and assistance of a number of people to whom I would like to express my sincere gratitude. First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor, David Taras, whose comments and criticisms kept me on the right track. His continuing enthusiasm for this work provided me with the inspiration to forge ahead. His insights into the political scene in Alberta have been both fascinating and invaluable. Numerous journalists, politicians and campaign workers gave generously of their time and provided me with details and context that have greatly enriched this work. Their opinions and anecdotes stimuiated my thinking and provided me with a better understanding ofhow complicated the relationship between journalists and politicians really is. My deepest thanks go to Tom Johnston who has provided me with support and an ear. He also offered a keen proofreading eye and invaluable assistance when it came to analyzing the quantitative data. And finally, I'd like to thank my amazing children, Robert and Tyler, who, for the past two years, have learned to lived with me either away kom home or sitting behind a closed office door. They provided me with encouragement in the form of hugs, kisses and hotdogs. And, they ahvays seemed to howwhen it was really time to stop fighting. TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVALPAGE ................................................... u.. ... ABSTRACT ........................................................ LU ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................... ,. .................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................. v LIST OF TABLES ................................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................. viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................... 1 Politics and the BoornBust Cycle ................................... 5 Methodology .................................................. 11 Sample ....................................................... 13 Procedure .................................................... I7 OutlineoftheThesis ............................................ 18 CHAPTER TWO: SYMBOLS. CYNICISM AND THE MEDLA .............. 21 Edelman and the Construction of Politics ............................. 22 Gramsci's Hegemony ............................................ 29 Mass Media and Hegemony ....................................... 33 ToddGitlin .............................................. 33 DouglasKeher .......................................... 36 RohHackett ........................................... 38 Strategic Frames and Cynicism ..................................... 43 ThomasE.Patterson ...................................... 43 J. Cappella and KH. Jamieson ............................... 47 Conclusion .................................................... 49 CHAPTER THREE: REPORTING ELECTIONS IN ALBERTA ............. 52 Coveringthelegislature ......................................... 55 Premier Klein and the Media ...................................... 65 1993 .Miracle onthe Prairie ...................................... 77 1997-HeKepthisWord ......................................... 85 Conclusion .................................................... 92 CHAPTER FOUR: BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE ........ 94 Frequency of Publication ......................................... 94 FocusofArticles ............................................... 97 Genre ofArticles .............................................. 101 AnentionPaidtoLeadm ........................................ 105 Conclwion ................................................... 113 CHAPTER FIVE: TONE AND FRAMING .............................. 115 Tone of Coverage by Year ....................................... 115 Tone and Newspaper ........................................... 124 Issue Frames vs . Strategic Frames ................................. 132 Conclusion ................................................... 136 CWTERSIX: DISCUSSION ....................................... 239 Symbols and the Premier ........................................ 140 Hegemony and the Alberta Elections ............................... 144 Strategic vs . Issue Frames ....................................... 149 Implications for Politics and the News .............................. 152 REFERENCES .................................................... 155 APPENDIX A: Coding Rules .......................................... 163 APPENDIX B: Code Sheet ........................................... 169 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Publication Crosstabulated by Election Year ..................... 95 Table 2 Story Genre Crosstabdated by Election Year ................... 102 Table 3 Location of Story by Dominant Leader (1 993) .................. 109 Table 4 Location of Story by Dominant Leader (1 997) .................. 109 Table 5 Tone Index for Leaders by Newspaper and Year (1993) ........... 127 Table 6 Tone Index for Leaders by Newspaper and year (1 997) ........... 128 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Tone of Coverage by Leader (1993 Campaign) .................. 116 Figure 2 Tone of Coverage by Leader (1997 Campaign) .................. 120 CHAPTER ONE IPJTRODUCTION One of the foundations of democratic theory is that rulers govern on behalf of the people. Although politicians make decisions that effect us alL ultimately power resides in and with the public. When the masses are no longer satisfied that their rulers are making decisions which are in a society's best interests, the people have the ability to peacefully replace government. However, in order to make decisions about leaders, the public needs information about their actions and the policies they are instituting. To usher in new rulers, the public needs to know who is running for office aml what kinds of policies they would enact if elected. The media play a pivotal role in the process of democracy, especially in this century. Society has become so large that many Canadians do wt live close to provincial legislatures or the House of Parliament. We rarely see our MLAs or MPs m person. Instead, we gain information about politics through the mass media. Tuen Van Dijk points out that "mon of our social and political knowledge