著者

飽戸 弘

出版者

東洋英和女学院大学

雑誌

東洋英和大学院紀要 (ISSN:13497715)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.1, pp.13-23, 2005-04-01

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The author tries to discuss and analyze the impact and influence that mass media reporting had on the decision - making processes of people's voting behavior in the United States presidential election in 2004, primarily through the use of polling data. First, I would like to describe the various events prepared and produced by both the Democratic and Republican Parties and their campaigners and the electorates' responses to them, at the time of the primary elections in each state, at the time of the national conventions of both parties, and at the time of the three successive TV debates, focusing on the impact of these media events and their media coverage. Second, I will discuss the election results and the reporting of popular votes in November. It is said that there were considerable discrepancies between the predictions over the election tumouts by mass media and the actual tumouts. I will try to discuss some reasons of these gaps. In concluding these discussions, we can analyze the enormous impact of media on the decision - making processes of the electorate. Furthermore, through this analysis, we will be able to propose some revisions and reforms of the present system of the U.S. Presidential Election, following the discussion of a previous study on presidential election on 2000 <cf. Akuto, 2002>.