The role of the media in the 1998 Bundestag Election in Germany and the 2000 Presidential Election in the United States

Table of Contents

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1.  Introduction  Introduction

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2.  Different frameworks and expectations  

2.1  The systems behind the two elections  1

2.2  Influence of the systematical differences  2

2.3  Americanized or Professionalized  3

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3.  Differences between the two elections  

3.1  1998 election of the German Bundestag  4

3.2  2000 US presidential election  6

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4.  Conclusion  

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  Bibliography  

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1. Introduction

This essay tries to compare the role of the media in the general election 1998 in Germany with its role in the presidential election in the United States in 2000. It wants to show to which extent the coverage was different and which factors might have influenced it. In the first part the different frameworks behind the two elections that could have an effect on the media are briefly explained. Additionally two theories of the changing media coverage style of elections are mentioned and expectations to the actual results are derived. In the second part the two elections are actually compared giving some basic facts and special characteristics. Furthermore the media coverage is being compared and some of the theoretical assumptions are being tested employing statistical data mostly out of a comparative study by Günther Lengauer (2007). Because of the limited space, the essay focuses only on the main findings. It ends with a conclusion.

2. Different frameworks and expectations

In order to compare the role of the media in the two elections one has to keep in mind that the system behind each one differs to a certain extent. I will only focus on the main characteristics here that distinguish the two systems and might influence the media coverage. The differences are of course much more complicated if you take a closer look, but in this context a brief overview should be sufficient.

2.1 The systems behind the two elections

American presidential elections begin with the so called “primaries”. During this time people choose out of several candidates of the different parties. The winner becomes in the end the official candidate for his or her party. Although there are also candidates from other parties they normally only play a marginal role – basically the democratic and the republican candidate are a matter of interest.

During the presidential election itself the voters choose indirectly between the winners of the primaries. It´s an indirect election because people don´t vote for one candidate - they vote “electors”. Once it is determined which candidate received the most votes in one state the electors of every state vote all for this candidate – even if the difference was very close (BBC, 2007).

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To sum it up people can even influence the candidate choice of the different parties and elect the head of the government.

During the German elections of the Bundestag people can´t vote their government directly. They have two votes: one for one candidate that represents the region they live in and one for one party list. After the elections the members of the Bundestag vote the chancellor who is the head of the government. The amount of different parties in the Bundestag was never below three since its first election. If one party hasn´t got enough seats for a majority (which is most times the case) coalitions between parties have to be built which then form the government (Election Resources, 2005).

If you try to very basically translate this system into American circumstances it´s as if the people would vote the members of the House of Representatives who then elect one president in the end.

Although both elections represent the “main” elections in their country some major differences become obvious:

1. People in the US can choose the presidential candidates of each party.

2. In Germany the people elect the legislative branch of the government and indirectly

the executive branch, in the US only the executive branch.

3. In Germany it´s technically a choice between parties not between presidential

candidates like in the US.

4. In the US there are only two parties that “matter” during the elections, in Germany

there are at least three.

The next paragraph deals with the supposed influences of these differences.

2.2 Influence of the systematical differences

The different characteristics of the general elections in the US and Germany also affect the role of the media covering them.

Three general expectations can be derived from the points shown above:

1. Because of the primaries the media coverage of US elections usually begins earlier

and therefore lasts longer than in Germany (Lengauer, 2007, p. 129).

2. “Personalization” of the coverage plays in the US a more important role than in

Germany where the parties have a higher relevance. Additionally the concentration