Abstract

Twitter se ha incorporado como un canal imprescindible en las estrategias comunicativas de los actores políticos. Sin embargo, necesitamos saber más sobre su uso. Nuestro objetivo es analizar las principales funciones atribuidas a Twitter en campaña electoral. Para ello, mediante el análisis de contenido cuantitativo se estudian las elecciones de 2016 en España. Integran la muestra 9.042 tweets, publicados por los cuatro partidos más votados y sus candidatos. Los resultados muestran: Primero, la función más usada es la difusión de sus propuestas políticas. Segundo, se detecta un bajo nivel de personalización. Tercero, se observa una tendencia incipiente hacia la hibridación entre los nuevos medios digitales y los convencionales en el empleo de esta plataforma. Finalmente, se demuestra que las funciones otorgadas a Twitter se ven condicionadas por tres factores de manera diversa: la trayectoria histórica del partido, su posición en el eje gobierno-oposición y la dimensión individual o colectiva.AbstractTwitter has been incorporated as an essential tool in the communication strategies of political actors. However, we need to know more about its use. Our objective is to analyze the main functions attributed to Twitter in electoral campaigns. We studied the 2016 election in Spain based on an analysis of quantitative content. The sample consists of 9,042 tweets, published by the four parties that received the most votes and their candidates. The results show: First, the most widely use function was the dissemination of political proposals. Second, a low level of personalization was detected. Third, there was an incipient tendency towards hybridization between new and conventional digital media in the use of this platform. Finally, it was shown that the functions given to Twitter are conditioned, in different ways, by three factors: the historical trajectory of the party, its position on the government-opposition line, and the individual or collective dimension.

Abstract

Twitter has been incorporated as an essential tool in the communication strategies of political actors. However, we need to know more about its use. Our objective is to analyze the main functions attributed to Twitter in electoral campaigns. We studied the 2016 election in Spain based on an analysis of quantitative content. The sample consists of 9,042 tweets, published by the four parties that received the most votes and their candidates. The results show: First, the most widely use function was the dissemination of political proposals. Second, a low level of personalization was detected. Third, there was an incipient tendency towards hybridization between new and conventional digital media in the use of this platform. Finally, it was shown that the functions given to Twitter are conditioned, in different ways, by three factors: the historical trajectory of the party, its position on the government-opposition line, and the individual or collective dimension.

Abstract

This proposal emerges from Sartori’s postulate about the primacy of the image. On the basis of this initial idea, the transcendence of the visual image is acknowledged in the perception of the political scene. The objective is to apply this idea to the social network Instagram. We study the conjunction between visual and verbal framing in the content published by five candidates for the presidency of the Government of Spain; data retrieval began with the call for elections in 2015 and continued until the final inauguration session in October 2016. Our study aims to verify a hypothesis centered on the fact that leaders share videos and photographs to humanize their figure. Furthermore, the content analysis of 885 images reveals a growing process of celebrification of politicians active in Instagram, allowing for the discovery of dichotomies that operate in such a process.

Abstract

Persuasion is a communicative process in which the agent obtains the adhesion of the receiver and influences him/her; this process is particularly relevant in political communication during electoral periods. The persuasive techniques used on Facebook by the candidates of the main political parties (PP, PSOE, Podemos and, Ciudadanos) during the campaign for the general elections of June 2016 in Spain were analyzed. The research reveals that, of all the persuasive techniques envisaged by Roiz (1994), the most employed ones, by candidates to the presidency of the Government in Spain, were topic repetition, support in the preexisting attitudes, the adequacy of the subjects to specific publics, and exploitation of the psychic contagion.

Abstract

An indicator is proposed that measures the degree of professionalization of presidential campaigns in political systems where there is high personalization and low institutionalization of political parties. The professionalization of Colombia’s 2014 presidential campaign is measured: describing both the organizational dimension and internal structure of the campaign, and the communication strategy used to persuade the voters. Dimensions and categories are established that show the development and evolution of the techniques used in the presidential campaign.

Abstract

Twitter has become an essential instrument in the communication strategies of political actors during electoral campaigns. However, it is necessary to improve the knowledge about its use. The aim of this piece of research is to analyse the interaction in the usage of Twitter by the four main candidates in Spanish 2016 general elections. The research method is a content analysis of 2,339 tweets published during the electoral campaign. The results show: 1) candidates do not interact with citizens, but their main use of Twitter is self-referential; 2) the strategic use of hybridization between new media and conventional media is patent; 3) a clear distinction between old and new parties is not possible regarding the management of Twitter accounts.