Dg. Bystrom et al., Framing the fight - An analysis of media coverage of female and male candidates in primary races for governor and US Senate in 2000, AM BEHAV SC, 44(12), 2001, pp. 1999-2013
The few research studies that explore the media's portrayal of female candi
dates in comparison to male candidates have been limited to general electio
n campaigns and usually to one level of office. To expand this area of rese
arch, this study examines the media's portrayal of female and male candidat
es in primary races at two levels of political leadership in which the repr
esentation of women is strikingly low-state governor and U.S. senator-in th
e 2000 campaign. This study's exploration of how the media portrays female
and male candidates relies on a content analysis of articles from major nat
ional newspapers and representative major regional newspapers. By studying
the media's portrayal of male and female candidates during primary election
s at two levels of political leadership, this study provides an understandi
ng about how men and women are framed differently even when vying for their
own parry's bid and. thus, new insights into how such primary framing can
translate into bias during the general elections.