1997 BRITISH GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN BRITISH NEWS CONTENT ANALYSIS CODEBOOK OF VARIABLE NAMES AND DEFINITIONS: PRESS VERSION Holli A. Semetko Professor and Chair of Audience and Public Opinion Research University of Amsterdam Oude Hoogstraat 24 1012 CE Amsterdam THE NETHERLANDS tel: 31 20 525 2263; fax 31 20 525 2179; home tel: 31 20 622 5527 email: SEMETKO@PSCW.UVA.NL Margaret Scammell University of Liverpool School of Politics and Communication Studies Roxby Bldg. PO Box 147 Liverpool L69 3BX UK tel: 44 151 794 2656 fax: 44 151 794 3948 scam@liverpool.ac.uk Peter Goddard University of Liverpool School of Politics and Communication Studies Roxby Bldg. PO Box 147 Liverpool L69 3BX UK tel: 44 151 794 2993 fax: 44 151 794 3948 p.goddard@liverpool.ac.uk Relevant Publications Many of the variables mentioned in the following pages have been coded at every British general election campaign since 1983. A number of these variables have also been used to code news from recent election campaigns in Germany, Spain, and the US for the purposes of cross-national comparison. These data are the subject of the following publications: Blumler, Jay G. and Holli A. Semetko, 1987, "Communication and Legislative Campaigns in a Unitary Parliamentary Democracy: The Case of Britain" Legislative Studies Quarterly Vol. 12 No. 3. pp. 415-443. Curtice, John and Holli Semetko, 1994, "Does it matter what the papers say?" in A. Heath, R. Jowell and J. Curtice [eds] Labour's Last Chance? The 1992 election and beyond Aldershot: Dartmouth. pp. 43-64. Diez-Nicolas, Juan and Holli A. Semetko. 1995. "La television y las elecciones de 1993" in Alejandro Munoz-Alonso and Juan Ignacio Rospir [eds] Communicacion Politica Madrid: editorial Universitas, S.A. pp. 243-304. Mathes, Rainer and Holli A. Semetko, 1991, "Foreword: A Comparative Perspective on Television and Election Campaigns" in Political Communication and Persuasion special issue on "Television and Election Campaigning in Advanced Industrial Societies," Vol. 8. No. 4. pp. 139-144. Nossiter, T.J., Margaret Scammell and Holli A. Semetko, 1995, "Old Values versus News Values" in Ivor Crewe and Brian Gosschalk. [eds] Political Communications in the 1992 British General Election Campaign. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 85-103. Scammell, Margaret and Holli A. Semetko, 1995, "Political Advertising on Television: The British Experience" in Lynda Lee Kaid and Christina Holz-Bacha [eds] Political Advertising in the U.S. and Western Europe Beverly Hills: Sage. pp. 19-43. Semetko, Holli A., 1989, "Television News and the 'Third Force' in British Politics: A Case Study of Election Communication" European Journal of Communication. Volume 4, Number 4. 1989. pp. 453-481. Semetko, Holli A., 1991, "Images of Britain's Changing Party System: TV News and the 1983 and 1987 General Election Campaigns" Political Communication and Persuasion. Vol. 8. No. 4. pp. 163-181. Semetko, Holli A., 1992, "Broadcasting and Election Communication in Britain" in Frederick J. Fletcher [ed] Media, Elections and Democracy Vol. 19 of the research studies of the Canadian Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing. Toronto: RCERPF and Dundurn. pp. 25-62. Semetko, Holli A., 1996. "Journalistic Culture in Comparative Perspective: The Concept of 'Balance' in U.S., British and German TV News" Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics Vol. 1, No. 1. pp. 51-71. Semetko, Holli A. and Klaus Schoenbach, 1993, "The Campaign in the Media" in Russell Dalton [ed] The New Germany Votes: Unification and the Creation of the New German Party System. Providence, RI and Oxford UK: Berg. pp. 187-208. Semetko Holli A. and Klaus Schoenbach, 1994, Germany's "Unity' Election": Voters and the Media Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. Schoenbach, Klaus and Holli A. Semetko, 1994, "Medienberichterstattung und Parteienwerbung im Bundestagswahlkampf 1990: Ergebnisse aus Inhaltsanalysen und Befragungen"[Media coverage and party advertising in the national election campaign 1990: Evidence from content analyses and surveys] Medien Perspektiven 7/94 pp. 328-340. Semetko, Holli, Margaret Scammell, and T.J. Nossiter, 1994, "Media Coverage of the 1992 British General Election Campaign" in Anthony Heath, Roger Jowell and John Curtice [eds] Labour's Last Chance? The 1992 election and beyond Aldershot: Dartmouth. pp. 25-42. Schoenbach, Klaus and Holli A. Semetko, 1995. "Journalistische 'Professionalitaet' versus Chancengleicheit von Regierung und Opposition: Das Dilemma der aktuellen Berichterstattung im Wahlkampf." [Journalistic "professionalism" vs. equal opportunities for government and opposition: A dilemma for news coverage of election campaigns] in K. Armingeon & R. Blum [Eds] Das oeffentliche Theater: Politik und Medien in der Demokratie. Bern, Stuttgart, Vienna: Paul Haupt. pp.49-64. Schoenbach, Klaus & Holli A. Semetko, 1996. "Wahlkommunikation, Journalisten und Waehler: Fuenf thesen aum Bundestagswahlkampf 1990 -- mit einem internationalen Vergleich und einem ersten Blick auf 1994 [Election communication, journalists and voters: five theses on the 1990 German national election campaign -- with an international comparison and first look at 1994] In H. Oberreuter (Ed.) Parteiensystem am Wendepunkt? Wahlen in der Fernsehdemokratie Munich: Olzog. pp. 153-164. Semetko, Holli A. Jay G. Blumler, Michael Gurevitch, David H. Weaver, 1991, The Formation of Campaign Agendas: A Comparative Analysis of Party and Media Roles in Recent American and British Elections Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 1997 BRITISH GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN NEWS CONTENT ANALYSIS CODEBOOK The 1997 study is sponsored by a grant from the British Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to Margaret Scammell and Holli Semetko. We are coding political news from the date of the commencement of the campaign (April 1st 1997) to the 1997 election day itself (expected to be a period of between three and four weeks), as well as during each three-week period covering the principal field-work dates in 1996 for the British Panel Election Study, which has continued since 1992. Coding this year takes the form of direct input to an MS Access database. This codebook represents a text equivalent of that database. TELEVISION Every news story on television will be coded, but political stories will be coded more elaborately than non-political stories. The full list of variables will be coded for all campaign stories, as well as all stories making reference to politicians or political parties from Britain, and all stories mentioning British politicians or the election if from a foreign source. We do not code in detail any other stories, but we include them in our database and call them "non-political." For these TV stories, we code only the details of their placement in the bulletin (V1-V11) and their first main subject (V53 Story Subject (What?)). PRESS We still need to determine the range of pages we will code in the British newspapers. Page one for each newspaper will be coded at a minimum, and additional pages will be coded if financial resources permit. As with television, every story on our chosen page(s) will be coded, but political stories will be coded more elaborately than non-political stories. The full list of variables will be coded for all campaign stories, as well as all stories making reference to politicians or political parties from Britain, and all stories mentioning British politicians or the election if from a foreign source. We do not code in detail any other stories, but we include them in our database and call them "non-political." For these press stories, we code only the details of their placement (V1-V15), their first main subject (V57 Story Subject (What?)) and, where they are accompanied by photographs or other visual devices, the size of photos/ visual devices and whether they are in colour (see V78-V89). This codebook contains variable definitions and value labels applying to press news. VARIABLE LIST V1 UNIQUE STORY ID NUMBER ____ ____ ____ ____ V2 DATE (dd/mm/yy)____ ____ ____ V3 NEWSPAPER ____ ____ Sun Mirror Mail Express Guardian Independent Telegraph Times Financial Times V4 PAGE NUMBER V5 MAIN HEADLINE V6 HEAD SIZE ____ in sq. cm - incl. front page sub-heads V7 TEXT SIZE in sq. cm - all front page text of story below byline ____ ____ ____ V8 CONTINUATION SIZE in sq. cm - all continuation text except headline ____ V9 NUMBER OF COLUMNS of front page text V10 CAMPAIGN MENTIONED Is the campaign mentioned in the story? (y/n) V11 TOP HALF? Is all or part of the story on the top half of the page? (y/n) V12 COLOUR TEXT/ BACKGROUND IN STORY? Is the story text coloured or set against a coloured background? (y/n) V13 BOXED? Is the story presented within a box? (y/n) V14 WIRE SERVICE AS SOURCE? Which wire service is given as the source of the story? Reuters Other None V15 STORY TYPE ____ ____ (STRAIGHT: relates to events over previous 24-hrs; NEWS ANALYSIS: Brings together info from different points in time.) STRAIGHT NEWS opinion poll 01 issue profile 02 press conference 03 walkabout 04 rally,mtg, speech 05 campaign trail mixed 06 investigative 07 other 08 NEWS ANALYSIS opinion poll 11 issue profile 12 press conference 13 walkabout 14 rally,mtg, speech 15 campaign trail mixed 16 investigative 17 other 18 FEATURE interview 21 profile/DITLO 22 (Day In The Life Of) press conference 23 walkabout 24 rally,mtg,speech 25 campaign trail mixed 26 constit. report 27 other 28 OTHER signed column 31 editorial 32 cartoon 33 photograph 34 illustration/ graphic 35 sidebar 36 other 37 reporter evaluation 38 PARTY PAID ADVERTISEMENT 41 NON-POLITICAL 99 (ie. no reference to campaign, politicians, political parties. Enter SUBJECT under V?? ("Story Subject (What)?"). Enter PHOTO SIZE and COLOUR? under Press Photos where applicable. No further data required.) V16 SETTING/ OCCASION What is the Setting or Occasion of the story? (Note the occasion that gave rise to the story - ie. the immediate stimulus for the action or events reported in the story). S01 Political: Legislative S02 Political: Government S03 Political: Party Meeting S04 Political: Interest Group Meeting S05 Political: International Event S06 Political: Other political actions S11 Campaign: Event/ Rally/ Photo op., etc. S12 Campaign: Press conference/ Statement to press S13 Campaign: Other campaign actions S21 Media: Interviews S22 Media: Journalist rpt./ News analysis/ Poll rpt. S23 Media-sponsored public opinion poll S24 Media: Other media actions S31 Other causes or occasions S99 No identifiable setting V17-26 STORY ACTORS (WHOM?) Who is the story about? (in order of importance/ predominance) Up to ten actors are coded in the story. This variable assesses the main actor(s) in the story, in order of importance as indicated by a combination of the amount of time, or frequency, or order in which they appear. See attached table of Story Subject (Whom?) variables (Table 1). Max. 10 entries. V27-46 SOURCES FOR QUOTES There is often considerable overlap between the main actors in the story, and those who are quoted or who are seen speaking (soundbites on TV) in the story. But there is not necessarily a direct correspondence. This variable is another indicator of the presence of partisans in the news, as it measures who is seen and how long they are speaking. Who is quoted/ speaking as a source in the story? How long is the quote/soundbite? (lines of text/seconds) Use attached table of Story Subject (Whom?) variables (Table 1) for actors/sources. Give the aggregate length of quotes (no. of lines of text) from each source. Max. 10 entries (give actor and length for each = 20 entries). See APPENDIX A for guidance on coding unnamed sources. V47-56 CITED AS SOURCE BUT NOT QUOTED Politicans may also be cited (mentioned) but not seen speaking (or quoted) in a news story. Who is cited as a source in the story? Use attached table of actors/sources (Whom?) variables (Table 1) to identify these. Max. 10 entries. See APPENDIX A for guidance on coding unnamed sources. V57-68 STORY SUBJECT (WHAT?) The subject or topic list should be used to identify the most predominant/important subject in the story. Up to five additional subjects should be coded, if necessary, in order of importance/predominance. Six subjects in total can be coded for each story. The first/most important subject in the story should have the highest reliability between coders. Each subject in a story should also be coded for its initiation. Who initiated each of subjects in the story? Party initiated subjects come from planned events, material from press releases or opening statements at morning press conferences, statements not prompted by journalists. Subjects initiated by media include material from journalists' questions on the campaign trail, from different points in time, etc. Where it is not possible clearly to identify the initiator of the story, it should be coded it as "can't determine." Use attached table of Story Subject (What?) variables (Table 2) for subjects. Use attached table of Initiators (Table 3) for initiator. Max. 6 subjects (give subject and initiator for each = 12 entries). V69-74 REPORTERS' COMMENTS We are interested in the ways reporters contextualize the news about politicians' campaign activities and statements. Reporters' comments refer to the remarks made by reporters that surround or set the scene for the candidate activities or candidate statements. For TV, reporters' comments come between the soundbites from sources. For the press, reporters' comments come between the quoted material from sources. Up to six comments can be coded for each story. We aim to determine whether or not reporters' comments were nondirectional (straight/descriptive) or whether they appeared to be reinforcing or deflating the statements and activities or politicians. Some comments may be a mixture of reinforcing and deflating, such as: "It started off as a bad day for Mr. Major on the campaign trail, but by the time of the evening rally in Colchester he was in top form...." then follows a soundbite from Major. Code once for overall tone of each sequence of comments bounded by quotes. (Reporting actions is coded STRAIGHT. Code editorials/ signed columns as "RC99". Rarely, where radically different comments are included in same block, two codes may be used.) Use attached table of Reporters' Comments variables (Table 4). Max. 6 entries. V75 OVERALL TONE OF COMMENTS IN STORY Here the coder should provide a single entry to summarize the tone of all reporters' comments in the story. This should generally be an aggregate of Reporters' Comments (V69-74) entries. Use attached table of Reporters' Comments variables (Table 4). V76 DISDAIN Disdain: Reporters may try to distance themselves from what they perceive to be pseudo-events, and they portray event as staged, or as a photo op, or refer to reality behind the scenes. Examples of disdain in 1983 in Britain were rather timid/ironic compared to some of the more direct disdaining comments by US reporters. We can expect that as politicians in Britain have become more skilled at and interested in staging events, reporters may develop a more direct disdaining style. UK Examples. Nick Witchell, BBC, 1983: "The Prime Minister climbed aboard a tractor, showed an extraordinary interest in silage making, and had her photograph taken several thousand times." "Her aides didn't want us to film it, but there backstage is the girl and the projection machine who together add that extra something to the Thatcher style. In this election the Prime Minister has a special campaign song, slick advertising men and sharp TV presentation. At the end of each rally there is piped patriotic music [MUSIC SOUNDBITE]. It is a heavy atmosphere. Nonetheless, Mrs. Thatcher would be among the first to say it is the issues which count." US 1984 Examples. "Those schoolchildren didn't just happen to be there. It was planned by [Mondale's] advance team." Chris Wallace, NBC: "A campaign that even Hollywood would envy, tonight our White House correspondent takes us backstage on a Reagan tour. The point of all this -- to make the President look good on television. The audience would largely be extras on a stage. The well rehearsed rally was the usual show stopper." Does the reporter express "disdain" in the story? If so, towards which party? (Also write down the disdaining remark, the reporter, program, date, in a separate file). _____ No/ N/A 99 Conservative 01 Labour 02 LibDem 03 SNP 04 PC 05 Referendum 06 UKInd 07 SocLab 08 Green 09 NatLaw 10 BNP 11 NI Parties 12 Other Parties 13 Mixture 14 V77 REPORTER CORRECTION Did the reporter correct statements or information provided by a party? If so, by which party?: No/ N/A 99 Conservative 01 Labour 02 LibDem 03 SNP 04 PC 05 Referendum 06 UKInd 07 SocLab 08 Green 09 NatLaw 10 BNP 11 NI Parties 12 Other Parties 13 Mixture 14 V78-V89 PRESS PHOTOS If the story is accompanied by photographs or other visual devices, code each for:- Who was the subject of the photo/visual? (see Table 1) Who initiated the photo/visual? (see Table 3) Where was the photo/visual located? Use the following variables to code location of visuals: Press Conference Speech Party Conference Walkabout Downing St. TV Studio Organised Demo Westminster (interior) Meeting Street Campaign Trail: speech Campaign Trail: protests/ hecklers Campaign Trail: Other Institution: School/ Hospital, etc. Photo Op - other Campaign Ad "Mug Shot" Cartoon Graphic Inanimate object Other Can't Determine Not applicable (See APPENDIX B for detailed definitions for some of these value labels) What was the tone of the visual? Code tone as: Positive, Negative or Neutral (if in doubt, code tone from perspective of campaign) How big was it? (in sq. cm.) Was it in colour? (y/n) Max. 2 photos/ visual devices. Include those on continuation pages. (give subject, initiator, location, tone, size, whether in colour, for each = 12 entries). If more, take most significant. V90-92 TONE OF STORY TOWARDS MAIN ACTOR Coders are often confused about whether their personal partisan biases may enter into coding on this variable. Therefore, we ask the coder to evaluate the tone of the story as a whole FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PARTY OR CANDIDATE'S CAMPAIGN. Based on story as a whole including all information in the story (visuals and sound on TV, and in the press the headline) what is the tone of the story towards the main actor? Code 0 if the candidate or party is not mentioned in the story. Code 9 if the candidate or party is mentioned, but the story is neutral/straight. If the story displays some positive or negative characteristics, code the story as a whole on the seven point scale where 1 is very negative and 7 is very positive. V90 Favourability to Major/ Conservatives from perspective of campaign: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 STRAIGHT VERY MIXED VERY 0 N/A NEG. POS. V91 Favourability to Blair/ Labour from perspective of campaign: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 STRAIGHT VERY MIXED VERY 0 N/A NEG. POS. V92 Favourability to Ashdown/ Lib Dems from perspective of campaign: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 STRAIGHT VERY MIXED VERY 0 N/A NEG. POS. CANDIDATE AND PARTY TRAITS Code only where exact, or closely synonymous, wording is present; from verbal cues only, from any speaker (reporter or source). [NB. this range of variables corresponds to questions of leadership and party image to be asked in related opinion surveys conducted as part of the British Election Study] Is Major portrayed as: V93 Trustworthy? 1 Not Trustworthy? 2 N/A 3 V94 Capable of being a strong leader? 1 Not capable of being a strong leader? 2 N/A 3 V95 Caring? 1 Not caring? 2 N/A 3 V96 Decisive? 1 Not decisive? 2 N/A 3 V97 Sticks to principles? 1 Does not stick to principles? 2 N/A 3 V98 Keeps promises? 1 Breaks promises? 2 N/A 3 V99 Listens to reason? 1 Does not listen to reason? 2 N/A 3 V100 Extreme? 1 Moderate? 2 N/A 3 V101 Looks after all classes? 1 Looks after one class? 2 N/A 3 Is the Conservative Party portrayed as: V102 Extreme? 1 Moderate? 2 N/A 3 V103 United? 1 Divided? 2 N/A 3 V104 Good for all classes? 1 Good for one class? 2 N/A 3 V105 Stands up for Britain abroad? 1 Does not stand up for Britain abroad? 2 N/A 3 V106 Trustworthy? 1 Not Trustworthy? 2 N/A 3 V107 Capable of strong government? 1 Not capable of strong government? 2 N/A 3 V108 Keeps promises? 1 Breaks promises? 2 N/A 3 Is Blair portrayed as: V109 Trustworthy? 1 Not Trustworthy? 2 N/A 3 V110 Capable of being a strong leader? 1 Not capable of being a strong leader? 2 N/A 3 V111 Caring? 1 Not caring? 2 N/A 3 V112 Decisive? 1 Not decisive? 2 N/A 3 V113 Sticks to principles? 1 Does not stick to principles? 2 N/A 3 V114 Keeps promises? 1 Breaks promises? 2 N/A 3 V115 Listens to reason? 1 Does not listen to reason? 2 N/A 3 V116 Extreme? 1 Moderate? 2 N/A 3 V117 Looks after all classes? 1 Looks after one class? 2 N/A 3 Is the Labour Party portrayed as: V118 Extreme? 1 Moderate? 2 N/A 3 V119 United? 1 Divided? 2 N/A 3 V120 Good for all classes? 1 Good for one class? 2 N/A 3 V121 Stands up for Britain abroad? 1 Does not stand up for Britain abroad? 2 N/A 3 V122 Trustworthy? 1 Not Trustworthy? 2 N/A 3 V123 Capable of strong government? 1 Not capable of strong government? 2 N/A 3 V124 Keeps promises? 1 Breaks promises? 2 N/A 3 Is Ashdown portrayed as: V125 Trustworthy? 1 Not Trustworthy? 2 N/A 3 V126 Capable of being a strong leader? 1 Not capable of being a strong leader? 2 N/A 3 V127 Caring? 1 Not caring? 2 N/A 3 V128 Decisive? 1 Not decisive? 2 N/A 3 V129 Sticks to principles? 1 Does not stick to principles? 2 N/A 3 V130 Keeps promises? 1 Breaks promises? 2 N/A 3 V131 Listens to reason? 1 Does not listen to reason? 2 N/A 3 V132 Extreme? 1 Moderate? 2 N/A 3 V133 Looks after all classes? 1 Looks after one class? 2 N/A 3 Is the LibDem Party portrayed as: V134 Extreme? 1 Moderate? 2 N/A 3 V135 United? 1 Divided? 2 N/A 3 V136 Good for all classes? 1 Good for one class? 2 N/A 3 V137 Stands up for Britain abroad? 1 Does not stand up for Britain abroad? 2 N/A 3 V138 Trustworthy? 1 Not Trustworthy? 2 N/A 3 V139 Capable of strong government? 1 Not capable of strong government? 2 N/A 3 V140 Keeps promises? 1 Breaks promises? 2 N/A 3 Is the SNP portrayed as: V141 Extreme? 1 Moderate? 2 N/A 3 V142 United? 1 Divided? 2 N/A 3 V143 Good for all classes? 1 Good for one class? 2 N/A 3 V144 Trustworthy? 1 Not Trustworthy? 2 N/A 3 V145 Capable of strong government? 1 Not capable of strong government? 2 N/A 3 V146 Keeps promises? 1 Breaks promises? 2 N/A 3 V147 Some stories contain a great deal of policy relevant information while others contain very little, and these should be coded on the seven point scale. Some contain none whatsoever, and these should be coded as 0. What is the density of policy relevant information? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 N/A VERY VERY LOW HIGH TABLE 1: STORY ACTORS/SOURCES (WHOM?) 001 Conservative Party 002 Labour Party 003 Liberal Democrats 004 Scottish Nationalist Party 005 Plaid Cymru 006 Referendum Party 007 UK Independence Party 008 Socialist Labour Party 009 Green Party 010 Natural Law Party 011 British National Party 012 Ulster Unionist Party 013 Democratic Unionist Party 014 SDLP 015 Sinn Fein 016 Other Northern Ireland party 017 Other parties 018 Conservative & Labour 019 Conservative & LibDem 020 Labour & LibDem 021 Labour, LibDem & Conservative 022 Pro-Life Alliance 031 John Major 032 Tony Blair 033 Paddy Ashdown 034 Alex Salmond (SNP) 035 Dafydd Wigley (PC) 036 Sir James Goldsmith (Ref) 037 Arthur Scargill (SocLab) 038 Northern Ireland leaders 041 Major & Blair 042 Major & Ashdown 043 Blair & Ashdown 044 Major, Blair & Ashdown 045 Mrs Major 046 Mrs Blair 047 Mrs Ashdown 048 Martin Bell 051 CON: Michael Heseltine 052 CON: Michael Howard 053 CON: Kenneth Clarke 054 CON: Malcolm Rifkind 055 CON: Peter Lilley 056 CON: Gillian Shephard 057 CON: Michael Portillo 058 CON: Brian Mawhinney 059 CON: Stephen Dorrell 060 CON: Other Cabinet Minister 061 CON: John Redwood 062 CON: Baroness Thatcher 063 CON: Neil Hamilton 064 CON: Michael Forsyth 065 CON: Unnamed Party Source 066 CON: Other MPs/ Candidates/ Peers, etc. 067 CON: Spouse/ Family of MP/ Candidate 068 CON: Other Spokesperson 069 CON: Supporter (vox pop) 070 CON: Party member 071 LAB: John Prescott 072 LAB: Jack Straw 073 LAB: Gordon Brown 074 LAB: Robin Cook 075 LAB: Harriet Harman 076 LAB: David Blunkett 077 LAB: Margaret Beckett 078 LAB: Chris Smith 079 LAB: Other Shadow Cabinet 080 LAB: Peter Mandelson 081 LAB: Neil Kinnock 082 LAB: John Smith 083 LAB: George Robertson 085 LAB: Unnamed Party Source 086 LAB: Other MPs/ Candidates/ Peers, etc. 087 LAB: Spouse/ Family of MP/ Candidate 088 LAB: Other Spokesperson 089 LAB: Supporter (vox pop) 090 LAB: Party member 091 LDem: Alan Beith 092 LDem: Alex Carlile 093 LDem: Malcolm Bruce 094 LDem: Menzies Campbell 095 LDem: Simon Hughes 096 LDem: Emma Nicholson 097 LDem: Charles Kennedy 098 LDem: Lord Holme 099 LDem: Jim Wallace 100 LDem: Unnamed Party Source 101 LDem: Other MPs/ Candidates/ Peers etc. 102 LDem: Spouse/ Family of MP/ Candidate 103 LDem: Other Spokesperson 104 LDem: Supporter (vox pop) 105 LDem: Party member 106 SNP: MP/ Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 107 PC: MP/ Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 108 Ref: Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 109 UKIndP: Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 110 SocLab: Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 111 Green: Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 112 NLawP: Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 113 BNP: Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 114 UUP: MP/ Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 115 DUP: MP/ Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 116 SDLP: MP/ Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 117 Sinn Fein: Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 118 Other NI parties: Cand./ Spokes./ Supptr. 119 Other parties/ candidates/ Spokes./ Supptr. 121 Expert 122 Pollster 123 Trade Union representative 124 CBI representative 125 Business representative (not CBI) 126 City representative 127 Agriculture representative 128 BMA/ NHS worker/ supporter 129 Govt. spokesperson (non-partisan) 130 Unnamed Sources 131 Citizen (non-partisan) 132 Other Media (incl. other media's polls) 133 Policy Institutes (non-partisan) 134 Parliamentary Lobbyist 135 Other representative 136 Environment pressure groups 137 Health pressure groups 138 Family/ Children pressure groups 139 Gun lobby/ blood sports groups (anti/pro) 140 Gay Issues pressure groups 141 Other pressure groups 142 N.I. paramilitaries 143 Clergy 144 Judiciary 145 Police/ security 146 Public bodies 147 Intergovernmental bodies 148 EU Representative 151 Voter reaction 152 Media/ Special Correspondents 153 Govt. documents/ figures 154 Bank/ Markets/ City 155 Royalty 156 Bookmakers 157 Hecklers/ Demonstrators 158 Other world leaders 159 Celebrities 999 Other/ Not applicable TABLE 2: STORY SUBJECT (WHAT?) 201 ELECTION CAMPAIGN: General Conduct 202 Political Strategy (any party) 203 Media Strategy (any party) 204 Campaign Ads (any party) 205 Campaign Organization (any party) 206 Hecklers/ Protests 207 Getting Out the Vote 208 Ethnic Voters 209 Endorsements (any party) 210 Politicians' Travels (any party) 211 No Substance 212 Leaked Information 213 Campaign Spending (any party) 214 Accessibility of Candidates/ Parties 215 Tactical Voting 216 Boundary Changes 217 Election Campaign: Other specific issues 218 Media Coverage (sidebars/ contents) 221 POLLS/ HORSERACE: general 222 Marginal Seats 223 Party Private Poll 224 Media Own Poll 225 Issue/ Other Poll 226 Horserace: Party View 227 Outcome Prediction 228 Hung Parliament scenario 229 Bandwagon 230 TV Use Press Poll 231 Party Reaction to Poll 232 Election Hotline (tabloid reader poll) 241 PARTY LEADERS: general 242 DITLO Leader 243 Physical Security 244 Qualities: Major 245 Qualities: Blair 246 Qualities: Ashdown 247 Record: Major 248 Record: Blair 249 Record: Ashdown 250 Compare Records/ Qualiies 251 Thatcher: Campaigning/ Qualities/ Record 261 MEDIA TREATMENT: general 262 Treatment: Major 263 Treatment: Blair 264 Treatment: Ashdown 265 Treatment: Conservative Party 266 Treatment: Labour Party 267 Treatment: LibDems 268 Press Endorsement 269 TV / Press Coverage 281 PARTIES: Manifesto: Conservative 282 Manifesto: Labour 283 Manifesto: LibDem 284 Record: Conservative 285 Record: Labour 286 Record: LibDem 287 Conservative Internal Politics (general) 288 Conservative Internal Politics (dissent) 289 Labour Internal Politics (general) 290 Labour Internal Politics (dissent) 291 LibDem Internal Politics 292 Scottish Nationalist Party 293 Plaid Cymru 294 Referendum Party 295 UK Independence Party 296 Socialist Labour Party 297 Green Party 298 Natural Law Party 299 British National Party 300 Ulster Unionist Party 301 Democratic Unionist Party 302 SDLP 303 Sinn Fein 304 Other Northern Ireland party 305 Other party 306 Martin Bell 311 CAMPAIGN ISSUES: Negative Campaigning 312 Professionalisation of campaigning 313 "Americanisation" (specifically) of campaigning 314 Sleaze 315 Hamilton/ Greer/ Cash for Questions (specific) 316 Gaffes (general) 317 Terrorism/ Bomb Scare 318 Campaign Gimmicks 319 Leadership (as issue) 326 CONSTITUTION/ POL. SYST.: general 327 Pol. Institutions: Parlt./ Lords/ Judiciary 328 Political Role of Monarchy 329 Electoral Reform 330 Bill of Rights 331 Freedom of Information 332 Secrecy 333 MI5/ MI6 334 Local Govt. 335 Political Participation 336 Policy: Conservative (not devolution) 337 Policy: Labour (not devolution) 338 Policy: LibDem (not devolution) 339 Devolution (constitutional) 346 DEFENCE: general 347 Policy: Conservative 348 Policy: Labour 349 Policy: LibDem 351 ECONOMY: general 352 Jobs/ Unemployment 353 Inflation 354 Wages/ Earnings 355 Executive Pay ("Fat Cats") 356 Personal Taxation 357 Council Tax/ Business Rates 358 VAT 359 Corporate Taxation 360 Agriculture 361 Industry/ Business/ Manufacturing 362 Trade Unions 363 Industrial Action 364 Nationalisation 365 Privatisation 366 Privatised Utilities 367 Balance of Trade 368 Public Spending 369 Public Borrowing 370 Economic Recovery 371 Interest Rates 372 Savings Schemes 373 Money Supply 374 Markets/ City 375 "Stakeholding" 376 Policy: Conservative 377 Policy: Labour 378 Policy: LibDem 379 Budget: Conservative 380 Budget: Labour 381 Budget: LibDem 391 SOCIAL WELFARE: general 392 NHS 393 Health (general) 394 Pte. Medicine/ Hospitals/ Insurance 397 Soc. Sec.: Elderly/ Pensions 398 Jobseekers' Allowance 399 Child Benefit 400 Other Benefits 401 Welfare State 402 Law & Order: Crime 403 Law & Order: Penal System 405 UK Ethnic Minorities 406 Immigrants 407 Racism 408 Refugees 409 Poverty 410 Homelessness 411 Women 412 Youth 413 The Family 414 Welfare Cuts 415 Policy: Conservative 416 Policy: Labour 417 Policy: LibDem 418 Gun Control 421 EDUC., TECHNOL., ARTS: Education general 422 Schools 423 Universities/ Colleges 424 Science & Technology 425 Arts/ Arts Funding 426 National Lottery 427 Other issues 428 Policy: Conservative 429 Policy: Labour 430 Policy: LibDem 441 INFRASTRUCTURE: general 442 Housing/ Urban Devpt. 443 Public Transport 444 Roads 445 Railways 446 Other issues 447 Policy: Conservative 448 Policy: Labour 449 Policy: LibDem 451 ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY: general 452 Nuclear Power 453 North Sea Oil 454 Environmental Conservation 455 Energy Conservation 456 Power Generation/ Supply 457 Water Supply 458 Other issues 459 Policy: Conservative 460 Policy: Labour 461 Policy: LibDem 471 FOREIGN AFFAIRS: general 472 Relations with Non-European Nations 473 Relations with European Nations 474 EU (general) 475 EU: Monetary Union 476 EU: Social Chapter 477 EU as Threat to Sovereignty 478 Anglo-Irish relations 479 Falklands 480 Third World 481 Overseas Development 482 Policy: Conservative 483 Policy: Labour 484 Policy: LibDem 485 Policy: REF/ UKInd 491 REGIONS: Scotland: general 492 Scotland: devolution 493 Scots Law/ Legal System 494 Scotland: voting/ electoral politics 495 Wales: general 496 Wales: devolution 497 English Regions 498 London 499 N.I.: general 500 N.I.: voting/ electoral politics 501 N.I.: peace process 502 Policy: Conservative 503 Policy: Labour 504 Policy: LibDem 505 Policy: SNP 506 Policy: Plaid Cymru 507 Policy: Ulster Unionist Party 508 Policy: Democratic Unionist Party 509 Policy: SDLP 510 Policy: Sinn Fein 511 Policy: Other Northern Ireland party 512 N.I.: Terrorism (not "peace process") 801 NON-POLITICAL: Di 802 Fergie 803 The Queen 804 Other Royalty stories 805 Games/ Promotions 806 Crimes 807 Celebrities 808 Other Human Interest 809 World Events/ Issues/ Leaders 810 Sports 811 Economy (non-political) 812 Health (non-political) 819 Other Non-Political stories 999 None/ Not Applicable TABLE 3: INITIATORS I01 Conservative Party I02 Labour Party I03 LibDems I04 Scottish Nationalist Party I05 Plaid Cymru I06 Referendum Party I07 Socialist Labour Party I08 Green Party I09 UK Independence Party I10 Natural Law Party I11 British National Party I12 Northern Ireland Parties I13 Pro-Life Alliance I18 Other parties I19 Mixture of parties I21 Media (poll/ anal./ interview) I22 Government I23 Interest Group I98 Other causes or occasions I99 Can't determine TABLE 4: REPORTERS' COMMENTS RC01 Reinforcing CON RC02 Reinforcing LAB RC03 Reinforcing LDem RC04 Reinforcing SNP RC05 Reinforcing PC RC06 Reinforcing REF RC07 Reinforcing SocLab RC08 Reinforcing Green RC09 Reinforcing UKInd RC10 Reinforcing NatLaw RC11 Reinforcing BNP RC12 Reinforcing NI RC13 Reinforcing CON/LAB RC14 Reinforcing CON+ RC15 Reinforcing LAB+ RC16 Reinforcing CON/LAB+ RC21 Mixed CON RC22 Mixed LAB RC23 Mixed LDem RC24 Mixed SNP RC25 Mixed PC RC26 Mixed REF RC27 Mixed SocLab RC28 Mixed Green RC29 Mixed UKInd RC30 Mixed NatLaw RC31 Mixed BNP RC32 Mixed NI RC33 Mixed CON/LAB RC34 Mixed CON+ RC35 Mixed LAB+ RC36 Mixed CON/LAB+ RC41 Deflating CON RC42 Deflating LAB RC43 Deflating LDem RC44 Deflating SNP RC45 Deflating PC RC46 Deflating REF RC47 Deflating SocLab RC48 Deflating Green RC49 Deflating UKInd RC50 Deflating NatLaw RC51 Deflating BNP RC52 Deflating NI RC53 Deflating CON/LAB RC54 Deflating CON+ RC55 Deflating LAB+ RC56 Deflating CON/LAB+ RC61 Straight CON RC62 Straight LAB RC63 Straight LDem RC64 Straight SNP RC65 Straight PC RC66 Straight REF RC67 Straight SocLab RC68 Straight Green RC69 Straight UKInd RC70 Straight NatLaw RC71 Straight BNP RC72 Straight NI RC73 Straight CON/LAB RC74 Straight CON+ RC75 Straight LAB+ RC76 Straight CON/LAB+ RC98 Can't determine RC99 Not applicable APPENDIX A: Guidance on coding unnamed sources as V27-46 SOURCES FOR QUOTES or V47-56 CITED AS SOURCE BUT NOT QUOTED. Often quotes or citations are not attributed to specific individual speakers, but to 'a spokesman', 'a source', etc. Many of these, some of which derive from lobby or off-the-record briefings, involve party (or party-faction) affiliations but do not identify speakers directly. Additionally, there are various unnamed non-party sources. We have decided that unnamed non-party sources present less of a problem and consequently that these can be coded in relation to role, occupation or the person for whom they are speaking. However, we are much more uncomfortable about coding in relation to role, occupation or the person for whom they are speaking in the case of party-affiliated sources (eg. it would be misleading to code 'a Blair aide' as "Tony Blair" (032)). Conssequently, the following guidelines have been developed in order to produce consistency in coding unnamed but party-affiliated sources: Collective attributions seeming to reflect the will of the party and expressing the party line ('Senior Tories', 'the Labour leadership') are coded as the party (001 Conservative Party, 002 Labour Party, etc.), though this depends on context - 'senior Tories' cited as expressing opinions at odds with the party line are coded "Unnamed Party Source" (065 CON: Unnamed Party Source, 085 LAB: Unnamed Party Source, etc.). Unnamed individuals with party attributions are coded "Unnamed Party Source" unless there seem to be grounds for thinking that they are party spokespersons/ strategists (the word 'aide' is often significant here, for example) in which case they are coded as such (068 CON: Other Spokesperson, 088 LAB: Other Spokesperson, etc.). APPENDIX B: Definitions for Location of Visuals value labels for use in coding V78-V89 PRESS PHOTOS. A "Walkabout" involves meeting ordinary people in ordinary locations (shopping streets, etc.), often with hand-shaking, baby-kissing, etc. Photo op meetings with specific groups or in staged locations (eg. meeting a battalion of soldiers, playing football with local kids) are coded "Photo Op - other." "TV studio" is not intended for interviews specifically (these are not coded) but covers those fairly frequent instances where visuals illustrate v/o's such as '[?] spent all day giving television interviews", as well as material from television appearances (chat-shows, talk-shows, debates) where actors are shown saying newsworthy things (new policies, gaffes, etc.). "Organised Demo" is intended for organised street demonstrations only, not for disruptions to speeches or rallies nor for isolated hecklers. "Westminster (interior)" covers visuals in both Houses of Parliament, committees, corridors, etc. The frequent appearances of MPs outside Westminster are coded "Street". "Meeting" is for for private meetings only (eg. of party strategists, policy teams, scientific advisors, etc) normally involving sober-looking people sitting around a table, and not for meetings involving the public. "Street" reflects the fact that actors are frequently questioned by journalists in the street or whilst emerging from cars, or pictured anxiously hurrying to and from engagements. Street scenes in Downing Street are coded "Downing St.". "Photo Op - other" is a 'dump' category for photo ops which are not classifiable under other headings. Photo ops as part of the campaigns themselves should be coded "Campaign Trail: Other". 6 5