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ANALYSIS OF US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES IN UK BLOGS – FEB 19 - FEB 26, 2008
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Qualitative impact and blog buzz analysis
• The media analysis captured 121 posts on U.S. Democratic nomination hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the major UK blogs in the period from February 19 to 26, 2008.
• Coverage on Obama was more extensive, as he featured in 109 posts, while Clinton was mentioned in 83.
• Bloggers were not only more interested in the Illinois senator but also expressed a more positive attitude towards him, as 36% of all related posts were positive in tone.
• More than half (55%) of postings on Obama were neutral and only 9% were critical in tone.
• Coverage on Hillary Clinton was rather unfavourable, as more than one-third (35%) of posts on her were critical in tone. Neutral posts accounted for 57% and positive for just 8%.
• The image of the former first lady suffered mostly by her accusation that Obama is a plagiator and by doubts that her camp has leaked a photo of Obama in traditional Somali (Muslim) dress, both initially intended to undermine her opponent.
• Coverage on both candidates peaked on February 20, 2008 after Obama’s victory Wisconsin, its ninth straight win over Clinton.
• Another prominent peak in blog posts on both candidates can be observed on February 26, 2008 after the release of Obama’s “dressed photo.” |
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Qualitative impact trends
• Positive blog coverage on Obama peaked on February 20, 2008 after he won the Wisconsin primary.
• A small negative peak can be observed on February 20, 2008 when Obama was criticized for basing his campaign on emotion alone and not offering any feasible solutions or policies.
• After the Wisconsin primary, blog posts on Clinton reached a first negative peak. The Senator was attacked by bloggers for criticizing Obama of being “all talk and no action.”
• On February 4, 2008 bloggers acclaimed Clinton for being a more responsible potential commander-in-chief than Obama.
• On February 26, 2008 blog posts on both presidential hopefuls underwent a sharp increase after the release of Obama’s photograph in traditional Somali attire.
• Bloggers tended to comment more favourably on Obama and to criticize Clinton following suspicions that it was her camp that leaked the photograph in question.
• Both candidates received a lot of neutral mentions in blog posts as well, as the “dressed photo” triggered a more general discussion among bloggers on the values of US society |
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Qualitative impact of key blogs and commentaries
• The blog posts on Clinton were largely neutral in tone. Critical posts, however, by far outnumbered positive ones.
• The former first lady’s remark: “Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox” led to a landslide of critical comments, many of which stated that she was the one to be blamed for plagiarism.
• Positive postings described the New York senator as the most experienced candidate: “She is best equipped to handle our foreign policy disasters and is fully versed on our domestic issues.”
• Positive coverage on Barack Obama stemmed mainly from posts praising his great oratory and his inspirational message of hope and change.
• However, the Illinois senator drew many critical remarks for not being patriotic as he did not wear an American flag pin on his lapel and he had not put his hand over his heart while singing the national anthem.
• Bloggers were also critical of Obama’s ties to Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the anti-Semitic Nation of Islam.
• Guardian’s blog attracted the largest number of commentaries and the majority of them were critical towards Clinton and supportive towards Obama. |
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Blog origin and reputation drivers analysis
• The majority of posts on both candidates came from media blogs, such as The Economist, Guardian and Reuters.
• Pressure group blogs were second in terms of number of posts. Individual blogs followed.
• As regards reputation drivers, for both Clinton and Obama the key reputation driver was personality.
• Obama’s personality, however, triggered more supportive posts in UK blogs, while Clinton’s attracted critical posts.
• “As a good student who does her homework and is articulate in debates, Hillary has not found a way to make herself likable. She has been unable to communicate what sort of a person she really is and what she really believes in.” Neil Stockley wrote in his blog.
• Obama’s personality, on the other hand, attracted supportive coverage.
• The Guardian freelance journalist Cameron Duodu best described Obama’s positive: “Obama has shattered the stereotyped image of the African American male as an under-achieving, self-destructive victim of a white-controlled society that would sooner imprison him than enable him to enjoy a fruitful life.” |
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Top blog themes analysis
• Primaries were the key driver of positive coverage on Obama in all top blogs and in particular his victory in Wisconsin, as it was his ninth straight win over Clinton and the first one where his voting coalition was not “demographically strong”.
• Obama’s programme and personality were other key drivers of mostly positive postings. His personality was of interest to The Times and Reuters’ blogs, while his programme attracted posts in The Economist and Reuters’ blogs.
• The Economist was the only blog to post opinion polls on both candidates, while the plagiarism allegations scandal and the campaign tactics of the two candidates were discussed only in the Guardian’s blog.
• For Clinton again, the top blog themes were the primaries and her programme. The Times’ blog, it is interesting to note, was only interested in Clinton’s personality.
• Overall, UK bloggers had a rather supportive attitude to Obama but they also commented on how U.S. media covered the campaigns of the two candidates campaigns, as according to them U.S. journalists were too favourable to Obama and too critical of Clinton.
• In a posting on the Guardian blog, Jeff Jarvis said: “Members of the media have an Obama problem they're going to have to grapple with now or after the election: They love him. They hate Hillary. And the gap between the two is clearly seen in coverage, which surely is having an impact on the election.” |
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For questions, inquiries, etc.: inquiries@intellexy.com |
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