The Flawed Characters in the Campaign: Prestige Newspaper Assessments of the 1992 Presidential Candidates' Integrity and Competence

Abstract

A content analysis of New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times reporter and columnist/editorial evaluations of the integrity and competence of the 1992 presidential candidates during the fall campaign found that explicit assessments of the candidates' character were present in about 7 percent of all news articles and one-third of op/ed items, and that, as predicted, the vast majority were unfavorable in tone. Similar character assessments appeared in the three papers, with all following a negative media “subtext” for each candidate that emphasized his character flaws. Clinton was consistently assessed as a slippery obfuscator, Bush as an inept dissembler, and Perot as an arrogant paranoid.