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From Professionals to Potential First Ladies: How Newspapers Told the Stories of Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama

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Abstract

This research project examined 151 articles from three prominent newspapers published in the United States, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, to analyze the coverage of Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama during the 2008 presidential election. A content analysis was conducted to investigate the quantity of and common frames and themes found in articles related to the two potential first ladies. Among the major findings of this project were the common references made in the newspaper articles to controversies related to McCain and Obama, raising the question of whether increased coverage of controversies is one of the prices paid for “having it all,” both personally and professionally, as a presidential candidate’s spouse.

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Acknowledgement

Findings from this paper were presented at the 2010 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Southeast Colloquium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the 2010 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference in Denver, Colorado.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1460 University Drive, Winchester, VA, 22601, USA

    Tiffany J. Shoop

  2. Department of Mass Communication, Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA, USA

    Tiffany J. Shoop

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  1. Tiffany J. Shoop
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Correspondence to Tiffany J. Shoop.

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Shoop, T.J. From Professionals to Potential First Ladies: How Newspapers Told the Stories of Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama. Sex Roles 63, 807–819 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9858-3

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