University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2021 Pick a Horse, Ditch the Goat: the Rise of the Spoiler Frame in a Bipartisan Election Discourse Barbara Alexandra Raftes Dahlgren University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Dahlgren, Barbara Alexandra Raftes, "Pick a Horse, Ditch the Goat: the Rise of the Spoiler Frame in a Bipartisan Election Discourse" (2021). Theses and Dissertations. 2656. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2656 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. PICK A HORSE, DITCH THE GOAT: THE RISE OF THE SPOILER FRAME IN A BIPARTISAN ELECTION DISCOURSE by Barbara A.R. Dahlgren A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2021 ABSTRACT PICK A HORSE, DITCH THE GOAT: THE RISE OF THE SPOILER FRAME IN A BIPARTISAN ELECTION DISCOURSE by Barbara A.R. Dahlgren The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2021 Under the Supervision of Professor Michael Z. Newman Increasingly, public opinion shows Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are some of the most onerous in recorded history, and Americans want to see third-party options alongside them. Half of Americans use televised news to stay informed, but the two-party horserace leaves little room for the multiple candidates on the ballot.