1997 BRITISH GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN BRITISH NEWS CONTENT ANALYSIS CODEBOOK OF VARIABLE NAMES AND DEFINITIONS 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@PSCWUVANL 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@liverpoolacuk 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 pgoddard@liverpoolacuk 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 SA 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 TJ 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 US 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 US 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 TJ 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 and R Blum [Eds] Das oeffentliche Theater Politik und Medien in der Demokratie Bern Stuttgart Vienna Paul Haupt pp49-64 Schoenbach Klaus and 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 took the form of direct input to an MS Access database, which was then converted to an SPSS file. This codebook represents a revision of the text equivalent of the Access database. TELEVISION Every news story on television was coded but political stories were coded more elaborately than non-political stories The full list of variables were 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 did not code in detail any other stories but we included them in our database and call them "non-political" For these TV stories we coded only the details of their placement in the bulletin, and their first main subject. PRESS Page one for each newspaper was coded at a minimum and additional pages were coded if financial resources permited. As with television every story on our chosen pages was coded but political stories were coded more elaborately than non-political stories The full list of variables were 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 did not code in detail any other stories but we included them in our database and call them "non-political." For these press stories we code only the details of their placement, their first main subject and where they are accompanied by photographs or other visuals, the size of photos or visuals, and whether they were in colour. This codebook contains variable definitions and value labels applying to TV news VARIABLE LIST ID ____ ____ ____ ____ Unique story ID-number DATE dd mm yy ____ ____ ____ PROGRAM ____ ____ 1 'BBC Nine O'Clock News' 2 'ITN News At Ten' 3 'SKY National News 10pm ' PLACE Place of item in program running order HEAD Is the story a headline item? 0 'No' 1 'Yes' FHEAD? ____ Is the story the first headline? bong 1 0 'No' 1 'Yes' LENGTH seconds ____ ____ ____ FORMAT The predominant format of the story ____ 1 'anchor only' 2 'anchor plus stills or graphic' 3 'anchor plus film' 4 'field report w intro' 5 'stand-alone field rept' 6 'editorial or commentary' 7 'interview w candidate' 8 'interview w campaign personnel' 9 'interview w expert' 10 'interview w reporter s ' 11 'interview w outside reporter' 12 'other' 99 'Missing' SERIES Is the story introduced as part of a series? 0 'No' 1 'Yes' CAMPAIGN Is the campaign mentioned in the story? 0 'No' 1 'Yes' TYPE ____ ____ STRAIGHT relates to events over previous 24-hrs. NEWS ANALYSIS Brings together info from different points in time. STRAIGHT 1 'straight poll' 2 'straight issue profile' 3 'straight press conference' 4 'straight walkabout' 5 'straight rallymtgspeech' 6 'straight campaign trail mixed' 7 'straight investigative' 8 'straight other' ANALYSIS 11 'analysis opinion poll' 12 'analysis issue profile' 13 'analysis press conference' 14 'analysis walkabout' 15 'analysis rallymtgspeech' 16 'analysis campaign trail mixed' 17 'analysis investigative' 18 'analysis other' FEATURE 21 'feature interview' 22 'feature profile DITLO Day In The Life Of ' 23 'feature press conference' 24 'feature walkabout' 25 'feature rallymtgspeech' 26 'feature campaign trail mixed' 27 'feature constit report' 28 'feature other' OTHER 31 'signed column' 32 'editorial' 33 'cartoon' 34 'photograph' 35 'illustration graphic' 36 'sidebar 37 'other' 38 'reporter evaluation' 41'PARTY PAID ADVERTISEMENT' 99'NON-POLITICAL or Missing' i.e. no reference to campaign politicians political parties. Enter SUBJECT under SUBWHAT1 No further data required . SETTING What is the Setting or Occasion of the story? Note the occasion that gave rise to the story - i.e. the immediate stimulus for the action or events reported in the story . 1 'Political Legislative' 2 'Political Government' 3 'Political Party Meeting' 4 'Political Interest Group Meeting' 5 'Political International Event' 6 'Political Other political actions' 7 'Campaign Event Rally Photo op etc' 8 'Campaign Press conference Statement to press' 9 'Campaign Other campaign actions' 10 'Media Interviews' 11 'Media Journalist rpt News analysis Poll rpt' 12 'Media-sponsored public opinion poll' 13 'Media Other media actions' 14 'Other causes or occasions' 98 'no identifiable setting 99'Missing' SUBWHO1- SUBWHO10 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. QUOTE1 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? Use attached table of Story Subject Whom? variables Table 1 for actors sources. Give the aggregate length of quotes in seconds from each source. Max 10 entries give actor and length for each = 20 entries . See APPENDIX A for guidance on coding unnamed sources. LENGTH1 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds QUOTE2 Who is quoted speaking as a source in the story? LENGTH2 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds QUOTE3 Who is quoted speaking as a source in the story? LENGTH3 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds QUOTE4 Who is quoted speaking as a source in the story? LENGTH4 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds QUOTE5 Who is quoted speaking as a source in the story? LENGTH5 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds QUOTE6 Who is quoted speaking as a source in the story? LENGTH6 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds QUOTE7 Who is quoted speaking as a source in the story? LENGTH7 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds QUOTE8 Who is quoted speaking as a source in the story? LENGTH8 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds QUOTE9 Who is quoted speaking as a source in the story? LENGTH9 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds QUOTE10 Who is quoted speaking as a source in the story? LENGTH10 How long is the quote soundbite? lines of text seconds SCITE1- SCITE10 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. SUBWHAT1 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. Use attached table of Story Subject What? variables Table 2 for subjects. INWHAT1 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 as "cant determine" Use attached table of Initiators Table 3 for initiator. SUBWHAT2 INWHAT2 SUBWHAT3 INWHAT3 SUBWHAT4 INWHAT4 SUBWHAT5 INWHAT5 SUBWHAT6 INWHAT6 COMMENT1- COMMENT6 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 . COMNTALL 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 entries COMMENT1- COMMENT6 Use attached table of Reporters' Comments variables Table 4 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 . We need to make sure this is labeled properly, comparing it with the original codebook. 1 'No'_____CHANGE THIS TO 0 2 'Conservative' 3 'Labour' 4 'LibDem' 5 'SNP' 6 'PC' 7 'Referendum' 8 'UKInd' 9 'SocLab' 10 'Green' 11 'NatLaw' 12 'BNP' 13 'NI Parties' 14 'Other Parties' 15 'Mixture' 99 'NA Missing' CORRECT Did the reporter correct statements or information provided by a party? If so by which party? We need to make sure this is labeled properly, comparing it with the original codebook. 0 'No' 1 'Conservative' 2 'Labour' 3 'LibDem' 4 'SNP' 5 'PC' 6 'Referendum' 7 'UKInd' 8 'SocLab' 9 'Green' 10 'NatLaw' 11 'BNP' 12 'NI Parties' 13 'Other Parties' 14 'Mixture' 99 'NA Missing' VISUAL1 The visual component of TV news may correspond closely with or depart dramatically from the reporter's voice-over commentary. Key visuals are coded here and defined as those with significant or special meaning, indicated either by the subject matter or the reporter's voice-over commentary. Most stories containing key visuals come from the campaign trail but in many stories studio or stand-up interviews stills mug shots opinion poll stories there are no key visuals. We code up to five key visuals in a TV news story. A key visual refers to a single visual "occasion" regardless of length or the number of actual picture frames with the same subject matter and tone. Max 5 visuals give subject initiator location and tone for each = 20 entries . If more take most significant. Who was the subject of the visual? see Table 1 VINIT1 Who initiated the key visual? see Table 3 VLOCAT1 Where was the key visual located? See APPENDIX B for detailed definitions for some of these value labels 1 'Press Conference' 2 'Speech' 3 'Party Conference' 4 'Walkabout' 5 'Downing St' 6 'TV Studio' 7 'Organised Demo' 8 'Westminster interior ' 9 'Meeting' 10 'Street' 11 'Campaign Trail Speech' 12 'Campaign Trail protests hecklers' 13 'Campaign Trail Other' 14 'Institution School Hospital etc' 15 'Photo Op - other' 16 'Campaign Ad' 17 'Mug Shot' 18 'Cartoon' 19 'Graphic' 20 'Inanimate object' 21 'Other' 98 'Cant Determine' 99 'Not applicable' VTONE1 What was the tone of the visual? if in doubt code tone from perspective of campaign 1 'Negative' 2 'Neutral' 3 'Positive' VISUAL2 Who was the subject of the visual? see Table 1 VINIT2 Who initiated the key visual? see Table 3 VLOCAT2 Where was the key visual located? see VLOCAT1 VTONE2 What was the tone of the visual? 1 'Negative' 2 'Neutral' 3 'Positive' VISUAL3 Who was the subject of the visual? see Table 1 VINIT3 Who initiated the key visual? see Table 3 VLOCAT3 Where was the key visual located? see VLOCAT1 VTONE3 What was the tone of the visual? 1 'Negative' 2 'Neutral' 3 'Positive' VISUAL4 Who was the subject of the visual? see Table 1 VINIT4 Who initiated the key visual? see Table 3 VLOCAT4 Where was the key visual located? see VLOCAT1 VTONE4 What was the tone of the visual? 1 'Negative' 2 'Neutral' 3 'Positive' VISUAL5 Who was the subject of the visual? see Table 1 VINIT5 Who initiated the key visual? see Table 3 VLOCAT5 Where was the key visual located? see VLOCAT1 VTONE5 What was the tone of the visual? 1 'Negative' 2 'Neutral' 3 'Positive' FVMAJCON 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. Favourability to Major Conservatives from perspective of campaign 1 'Very negative' 2 3 4 'Mixed' 5 6 7 'Very positive' 9 'Straight' 0 'N A' FVBLALAB Favourability to Blair Labour from perspective of campaign 1 'Very negative' 2 3 4 'Mixed' 5 6 7 'Very positive' 9 'Straight' 0 'N A' FVASHLIB Favourability to Ashdown Lib Dems from perspective of campaign 1 'Very negative' 2 3 4 'Mixed' 5 6 7 'Very positive' 9 'Straight' 0 'N A' MTRUST 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 trustworthy? 1 'trustworthy' 2 'not trustworthy' 3 'N A missing' MSTRONG Is Major portrayed as capable of being a strong leader? 1 'strong leader' 2 'not strong leader' 3 'N A missing' MCARE Is Major portrayed as caring? 1 'caring' 2 'not caring' 3 'N A missing' MDECIS Is Major portrayed as decisive? 1 'decisive' 2 'not decisive' 3 'N A missing' MSTICKS Is Major portrayed as one who sticks to principles? 1 'sticks to principles' 2 'does not stick to principles' 3 'N A missing' MKEEPS Is Major portrayed as one who keeps promises? 1 'keeps promises' 2 'does not keep promises' 3 'N A missing' MLISTEN Is Major portrayed as one who listens to reason? 1 'listens to reason' 2 'does not listen to reason' 3 'N A missing' MEXTREME Is Major portrayed as extreme? 1 'extreme' 2 'not extreme' 3 'N A missing' MALL Is Major portrayed as one who looks after all classes? 1 'looks after all' 2 'does not look after all' 3 'N A missing' CEXTREME Is the Conservative Party portrayed as extreme? 1 'extreme' 2 'not extreme' 3 'N A missing' CUNITE Is the Conservative Party portrayed as united? 1 'united' 2 'disunited' 3 'N A missing' CGOOD Is the Conservative Party portrayed as good for all classes? 1 'good for all' 2 'not good for all' 3 'N A missing' CSTAND Is the Conservative Party portrayed as one that stands up for Britain abroad? 1 'stands up for Britain' 2 'does not stand up for Britain' 3 'N A missing' CTRUST Is the Conservative Party portrayed as trustworthy? 1 'trustworthy' 2 'not trustwothy' 3 'N A missing' CSTRONG Is the Conservative Party portrayed as capable of strong government? 1 'strong government' 2 'not strong government' 3 'N A missing' CKEEPS Is the Conservative Party portrayed as one that keeps promises? 1 'keeps promises' 2 'does not keep promises' 3 'N A missing' BTRUST Is Blair portrayed as trustworthy? 1 'trustworthy' 2 'not trustworthy' 3 'N A missing' BSTRONG Is Blair portrayed as capable of being a strong leader? 1 'strong leader' 2 'not strong leader' 3 'N A missing' BCARE Is Blair portrayed as caring? 1 'caring' 2 'not caring' 3 'N A missing' BDECIS Is Blair portrayed as decisive? 1 'decisive' 2 'not decisive' 3 'N A missing' BSTICKS Is Blair portrayed as one who sticks to principles? 1 'sticks to principles' 2 'does not stick to principles' 3 'N A missing' BKEEPS Is Blair portrayed as one who keeps promises? 1 'keeps promises' 2 'does not keep promises' 3 'N A missing' BLISTEN Is Blair portrayed as one who listens to reason? 1 'listens to reason' 2 'does not listen to reason' 3 'N A missing' BEXTREME Is Blair portrayed as extreme? 1 'extreme' 2 'not extreme' 3 'N A missing' BALL Is Blair portrayed as one who looks after all classes? 1 'looks after all' 2 'does not look after all' 3 'N A missing' LEXTREME Is the Labour Party portrayed as extreme? 1 'extreme' 2 'not extreme' 3 'N A missing' LUNIT Is the Labour Party portrayed as united? 1 'united' 2 'disunited' 3 'N A missing' LGOOD Is the Labour Party portrayed as good for all classes? 1 'good for all' 2 'not good for all' 3 'N A missing' LSTAND Is the Labour Party portrayed as one that stands up for Britain abroad? 1 'stands up for Britain abroad' 2 'does not stand up for Britain abroad' 3 'N A missing' LTRUST Is the Labour Party portrayed as trustworthy? 1 'trustworthy' 2 'not trustwothy' 3 'N A missing' LSTRONG Is the Labour Party portrayed as capable of strong government? 1 'strong government' 2 'not strong government' 3 'N A missing' LKEEPS Is the Labour Party portrayed as one that keeps promises? 1 'keeps promises' 2 'does not keep promises' 3 'N A missing' ATRUST Is Ashdown portrayed as trustworthy? 1 'trustworthy' 2 'not trustworthy' 3 'N A missing' ASTRONG Is Ashdown portrayed as capable of being a strong leader? 1 'strong leader' 2 'not strong leader' 3 'N A missing' ACARE Is Ashdown portrayed as caring? 1 'caring' 2 'not caring' 3 'N A missing' ADECIS Is Ashdown portrayed as decisive? 1 'decisive' 2 'not decisive' 3 'N A missing' ASTICKS Is Ashdown portrayed as one who sticks to principles? 1 'sticks to principles' 2 'does not stick principles' 3 'N A missing' AKEEPS Is Ashdown portrayed as one who keeps promises? 1 'keeps promises' 2 'does not keep promises' 3 'N A missing' ALISTEN Is Ashdown portrayed as one who listens to reason? 1 'listens to reason' 2 'does not listen to reason' 3 'N A missing' AEXTREME Is Ashdown portrayed as extreme? 1 'extreme' 2 'not extreme' 3 'N A missing' AALL Is Ashdown portrayed as one who looks after all classes? 1 'looks after all' 2 'does not look after all' 3 'N A missing' LEXTREME Is the LibDem Party portrayed as extreme? 1 'extreme' 2 'not extreme' 3 'N A missing' LUNIT Is the LibDem Party portrayed as united? 1 'united' 2 'disunited' 3 'N A missing' LGOOD Is the LibDem Party portrayed as good for all classes? 1 'good for all' 2 'not good for all' 3 'N A missing' LSTAND Is the LibDem Party portrayed as one that stands up for Britain abroad? 1 'stands up for Britain' 2 'does not stand up for Britain' 3 'N A missing' LTRUST Is the LibDem Party portrayed as trustworthy? 1 'trustworthy' 2 'not trustworthy' 3 'N A missing' LSTRONG Is the LibDem Party portrayed as capable of strong government? 1 'strong government' 2 'not strong government' 3 'N A missing' LKEEPS Is the LibDem Party portrayed as one that keeps promises? 1 'keeps promises' 2 'does not keep promises' 3 'N A missing' SEXTREME Is the SNP portrayed as extreme? 1 'extreme' 2 'not extreme' 3 'N A missing' SUNIT Is the SNP portrayed as united? 1 'united' 2 'disunited' 3 'N A missing' SGOOD Is the SNP portrayed as good for all classes? 1 'good for all' 2 'not good for all' 3 'N A missing' STRUST Is the SNP portrayed as trustworthy? 1 'trustworthy' 2 'not trustworthy' 3 'N A missing' SSTRONG Is the SNP portrayed as capable of strong government? 1 'strong government' 2 'not strong government' 3 'N A missing' SKEEPS Is the SNP portrayed as one that keeps promises? 1 'keeps promises' 2 'does not keep promises' 3 'N A missing' POLICY 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 'Very low' 2 3 4 5 6 7 'Very high' 9 'Missing' 0 'N A' TABLE 1 STORY ACTORS SOURCES WHOM? 1 'Conservative Party' 2 'Labour Party' 3 'Liberal Democrats' 4 'Scottish Nationalist Party' 5 'Plaid Cymru' 6 'Referendum Party' 7 'UK Independence Party' 8 'Socialist Labour Party' 9 'Green Party' 10 'Natural Law Party' 11 'British National Party' 12 'Ulster Unionist Party' 13 'Democratic Unionist Party' 14 'SDLP' 15 'Sinn Fein' 16 'Other Northern Ireland party' 17 'Other parties' 18 'Conservative and Labour' 19 'Conservative and LibDem' 20 'Labour and LibDem' 21 'Labour LibDem and Conservative' 22 'Pro-Life Alliance' 31 'John Major' 32 'Tony Blair' 33 'Paddy Ashdown' 34 'Alex Salmond SNP ' 35 'Dafydd Wigley PC ' 36 'Sir James Goldsmith Ref ' 37 'Arthur Scargill SocLab ' 38 'Northern Ireland leaders' 41 'Major and Blair' 42 'Major and Ashdown' 43 'Blair and Ashdown' 44 'Major Blair and Ashdown' 45 'Mrs Major' 46 'Mrs Blair' 47 'Mrs Ashdown' 48 'Martin Bell' 51 'CON Michael Heseltine' 52 'CON Michael Howard' 53 'CON Kenneth Clarke' 54 'CON Malcolm Rifkind' 55 'CON Peter Lilley' 56 'CON Gillian Shephard' 57 'CON Michael Portillo' 58 'CON Brian Mawhinney' 59 'CON Stephen Dorrell' 60 'CON Other Cabinet Minister' 61 'CON John Redwood' 62 'CON Baroness Thatcher' 63 'CON Neil Hamilton' 64 'CON Michael Forsyth' 65 'CON Unnamed Party Source' 66 'CON Other MPs Candidates Peers etc' 67 'CON Spouse Family of MP Candidate' 68 'CON Other Spokesperson' 69 'CON Supporter vox pop ' 70 'CON Party member' 71 'LAB John Prescott' 72 'LAB Jack Straw' 73 'LAB Gordon Brown' 74 'LAB Robin Cook' 75 'LAB Harriet Harman' 76 'LAB David Blunkett' 77 'LAB Margaret Beckett' 78 'LAB Chris Smith' 79 'LAB Other Shadow Cabinet' 80 'LAB Peter Mandeson' 81 'LAB Neil Kinnock' 82 'LAB John Smith' 83 'LAB George Robertson' 85 'LAB Unnamed Party Source' 86 'LAB Other MPs Candidates Peers etc' 87 'LAB Spouse Family of MP Candidate' 88 'LAB Other Spokesperson' 89 'LAB Supporter vox pop ' 90 'LAB Party member' 91 'LDem Alan Beith' 92 'LDem Alex Carlile' 93 'LDem Malcolm Bruce' 94 'LDem Menzies Campbell' 95 'LDem Simon Hughes' 96 'LDem Emma Nicholson' 97 'LDem Charles Kennedy' 98 'LDem Lord Holme' 99 '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' 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 medias 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 pro anti ' 140 'Gay Issues pressure groups' 141 'Other pressure groups' 142 'NI 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 Qualities' 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 and Order Crime' 403 'Law and 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 and 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 'NI general' 500 'NI voting electoral politics' 501 'NI 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 'NI 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 1 'Conservative Party' 2 'Labour Party' 3 'LibDems' 4 'Scottish Nationalist Party' 5 'Plaid Cymru' 6 'Referendum Party' 7 'Socialist Labour Party' 8 'Green Party' 9 'UK Independence Party' 10 'Natural Law Party' 11 'British National Party' 12 'Northern Ireland Parties' 13 'Pro Life Alliance' 18 'Other parties' 19 'Mixture of parties' 21 'Media poll anal interview ' 22 'Government' 23 'Interest Group' 98 'Other causes or occasions' 99 'Cant determine' 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 1 'Reinforcing CON' 2 'Reinforcing LAB' 3 'Reinforcing LDem' 4 'Reinforcing SNP' 5 'Reinforcing PC' 6 'Reinforcing REF' 7 'Reinforcing SocLab' 8 'Reinforcing Green' 9 'Reinforcing UKInd' 10 'Reinforcing NatLaw' 11 'Reinforcing BNP' 12 'Reinforcing NI' 13 'Reinforcing CON LAB' 14 'Reinforcing CONPLUS' 15 'Reinforcing LABPLUS' 16 'Reinforcing CON LABPLUS' 21 'Mixed CON' 22 'Mixed LAB' 23 'Mixed LDem' 24 'Mixed SNP' 25 'Mixed PC' 26 'Mixed REF' 27 'Mixed SocLab' 28 'Mixed Green' 29 'Mixed UKInd' 30 'Mixed NatLaw' 31 'Mixed BNP' 32 'Mixed NI' 33 'Mixed CON LAB' 34 'Mixed CONPLUS' 35 'Mixed LABPLUS' 36 'Mixed CON LABPLUS' 41 'Deflating CON' 42 'Deflating LAB' 43 'Deflating LDem' 44 'Deflating SNP' 45 'Deflating PC' 46 'Deflating REF' 47 'Deflating SocLab' 48 'Deflating Green' 49 'Deflating UKInd' 50 'Deflating NatLaw' 51 'Deflating BNP' 52 'Deflating NI' 53 'Deflating CON LAB' 54 'Deflating CONPLUS' 55 'Deflating LABPLUS' 56 'Deflating CON LABPLUS' 61 'Straight CON' 62 'Straight LAB' 63 'Straight LDem' 64 'Straight SNP' 65 'Straight PC' 66 'Straight REF' 67 'Straight SocLab' 68 'Straight Green' 69 'Straight UKInd' 70 'Straight NatLaw' 71 'Straight BNP' 72 'Straight NI' 73 'Straight CON LAB' 74 'Straight CONPLUS' 75 'Straight LABPLUS' 76 'Straight CON LABPLUS' 98 'Cant determine' 99 'Not applicable' APPENDIX A Guidance on coding unnamed sources as V23-42 SOURCES FOR QUOTES or V43-52 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 TV VISUALS 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" 2 3