Riding the Wave and Claiming Ownership Over Issues: The Joint Effects of Advertising and News Coverage in Campaigns

1994/01/01 by Stephen Ansolabehere, Shanto Iyengar · 18 citations
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Social Media and Politics #Media Influence and Politics

paper · doi:10.1086/269431

Abstract

Using a realistic experimental design, this article tests two hypotheses concerning the relative effectiveness of campaign advertising. The first (issue-ownership) hypothesis predicts that candidates gain the most from advertising on issues over which they can claim “ownership.” The second (riding-the-wave) hypothesis predicts that candidates are better off when they synchronize their advertising with news coverage. Our two studies yield support for the issue-ownership hypothesis, but no evidence of interactive effects between advertising and news.

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