Ryan’s entrance into the presidential race created a huge spike in discussion of the Romney campaign. It was the biggest spike in discussion about Romney from third-party newsmakers all summer, driven in print coverage by citizen newsmakers and in television coverage by analysts and commentators.
Ryan’s Selection Created Biggest Spike In Discussion of Romney All Summer
Chart shows percentage of statements from newsmakers outside of the campaigns that are about Romney (red) and about Obama (blue). Time frame is May 1-August 22.
Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan created the largest spike in discussion about the Romney campaign all summer. Among statements from newsmakers outside of the campaigns, those that were about Romney increased from 41% before the Ryan selection, to 73% after. It was the biggest spike in chatter about Romney by third-party newsmakers (those not associated with a campaign) since May 1.
Citizens Voice Reactions to Ryan in Print Coverage
Chart shows VoiceShare of statements about Romney distributed by newsmaker type in Print election coverage. Filtered for only newsmakers outside of the campaigns. Time frame is August 11-18
In the first week of Ryan as Romney’s running mate, third-party newsmakers that drove the Romney discussion varied drastically in print and television. In print coverage, citizen newsmakers had the highest VoiceShare among coverage about Romney. With a new face to get familiar with, their coverage was centered on Ryan’s personality and character. Almost half (48%) of their statements about the Romney campaign were about Candidate Character.
Political Analysts Talked Romney Most on TV
Chart shows VoiceShare of statements about Romney distributed by newsmaker type in TV election coverage. Filtered for only newsmakers outside of the campaigns. Time frame is August 11-18.
Analysts, Commentators, Partisans and Former Politicians drove the Romney discussion on television election coverage. Almost 70% of statements about Romney on television coverage last week came from those newsmakers. Citizens only received 2.6% of the VoiceShare in Romney coverage on television, which was part of the reason their overall VoiceShare across the media space dropped last week. They were simply drowned out by the television coverage being driven by the political beltway.
Of course, the domination of Analysts, Commentators, Partisans and Former Politicians comes as no surprise. They have been the core of television media coverage for the majority of the election.
