Stability and Change in the Heart of Europe: German Media Perspectives of the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

T 2008 U.S. Presidential election was a tale of stability and change. Fears of an economic crisis and overall fatigue with eight years of the Bush Administration led to hope for change. Voters were faced with Senator John McCain, a war hero with a maverick reputation, or Senator Barack Obama, charismatic, yet with minimal experience. Finally, it was going to be an election of firstseither the first female Vice President (Sarah Palin) or first African-American. In the end, Senator Obama won in a campaign that set numerous records. This paper is interested in providing a glimpse into German news media framing of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. More specifically, the paper is a case study that hopes to build on the work of international media coverage of political issues. First, justification for Germany is offered. Second, this is briefly discussed within a context of international media views of U.S. elections. Third, framing theory is proffered as a concept to explain German media coverage of the election. In particular, the importance of culture in the framing process is discussed.

Overall, the German news media play a crucial role in campaigns as tools for information. Most interesting for the transnational perspective in this paper is that prior interest leads to more exposure 8 . These high-interest citizens are actually more prone to become dependent upon mediated realities 9 , even in the face of personal experiences that might modulate such media perceptions 10 . This is consistent with those who note that attending to mass media is the principal means by which one becomes acquainted with the political world and develops opinion 11 .

International Media Views of U.S. Elections
This paper focuses on elections as a political issue. Political campaigns are news events that still matter and are a critical aspect of both political institutions and political communication research 12 . These campaign events mainly become visible to the public's eye through the media 13 . The media thus help shape perceptions of political institutions, the political process and political culture 14 . Unfortunately, election journalism has not been the ideal place for learning 15 . Culture becomes a primary basis for knowledge and meaning as a citizen understands these institutions or processes. Kunczik  of political culture in other countries, where often the primary exposure one has is via images in the media 16 .
However, apart from a few studies 17 , little research has been conducted on cross or transnational perspectives of elections. Holtz-Bacha notes that most studies are "nationally orientated" within single countries 18 . Yet, comparisons in international contexts are important and campaigns are particularly amenable to such comparisons 19 .
This paper adopts a transnational perspective in that it examines news media images of the U.S. electoral process from abroad. World opinion about the U.S. is an 'ongoing process' of homogenization and diversification that affects international images of the U.S. and shifts in response to political events 20 . Media in different countries reflect distinct regional and national identities, interests, and policies 21 . These geopolitical and domes-tic political perceptions are not limited to one country but also formulate about other countries 22 .

Framing Theory
Framing theory is a useful theoretical approach for analyzing media content 23 . Framing theory occupies an "important position in the international communication research agenda" 24 , namely because it extends research beyond the agenda setting tradition to focus on how issues are talked about. The media can have a strong impact in constructing social reality and frames of reference for the audience 25 by drawing viewers' attention to issues and then subsequently nourishing frames by making more salient a particular attribute or set of attributes (Schenk, 2003). Framing is a way of making meaning by indicating which attributes are salient and implying a connection among those facts by: promoting a particular problem definition, causal interpretations, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation, …" 26 .

Culture in Framing
While there have certainly been a plethora of conceptualizations of frames, this paper focuses on the presence of culture in the framing process and is in accord with those who argue for "bringing culture back in" 27 . Culture is thought to be a key factor responsible for explaining and predicting variety among news frames and citizens' responses to such frames 28 . Culture "might be defined as the empirically demonstrable set of common frames-cognitive, affective, and behavioral -exhibited in the discourse and thinking of most people in a social grouping" 29 .
The media are a key arena in which this discourse takes place by privileging certain cultural frames or interpretations 30 . Consequently, media framing of these political events might explain the formation of cognitive and evaluative attitudes or orientations regarding institutional norms 31 . The media have influence in that they give an audience a way of understanding events through the production of forms or identities that culturally resonate with the audience's view of the world 32 . This paper supports the assertions of those who advocate that frames are comprised of several different dimensions or aspects that make up an overall package 33 . These frame packages are "clusters of organized devices that function as an identity kit" 34 . Culture can be a difficult concept to grip, but such a package approach can help uncover cultural patterns embedded in media content. Some examples of these elements are words, exemplars, and descriptions 35 , reasoning devices such as causes or justifications 36 , and reasoning devices related to framing functions such as problem definition, moral 118 evaluations, and treatment 37 . By themselves, these manifest elements are not necessarily an actual frame, but together in combination they provide a good heuristic tool to help complete a package that can point to certain latent cultural structures or frames 38 . Consequently, this paper argues that it is possible to use such an approach to analyze the framing of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election in German newspapers. The sections that follow present some of these package elements.

Thematic/Episodic
Iyengar's approach to framing theory suggests that news reports may be usefully analyzed by their thematic or episodic content 39 . Thematic news places events in a broader context of related events. In general, such stories do better at promoting learning and informing citizens. Episodic framing merely provides snapshots of an issue, with any explanations based on sensational or emotional appeals. Research shows episodic framing trivializes public discourse, discourages citizens from seeking links among issues and leads to the exclusion of many important issues 40 .

Responsibility
Iyengar's work also incorporates notions of responsibility. Causal responsibility addresses the source of a problem, while treatment responsibility addresses solutions. Individual attributions tend to be associated with episodic framing, while societal attributions tend to be associated with thematic framing 41 . A framing process where individuals are assigned blame does little to encourage rational decision-making or promote comprehension of a political process.

Image/Issue
Research on media in election campaigns indicates that image-based political frames dominate 42 . Image-based frames, by concentrating on style over substance, lead to a more disconnected, episodic form of discourse 43 . There is a widening trend in Europe of such an image-based or game focus in media coverage of campaigns 44 .

Tone
Iyengar notes that tone of coverage could be significant in shaping public opinion 45 . News stories can adopt a positive or negative tone towards individuals and societal institutions. A negative, adversarial tone in news accounts only breeds more cynicism and encourages voters to focus on character rather than issue substance 46 . This tone is not only present in headlines and articles, but also perhaps in the photos or visuals used to portray a story. These symbolic images help convey meaning and are effective at shaping public opinion and government policy 47 .

Type and Quality of Information
Despite the growing predominance of image in political campaigns, issues still matter in the context of how they help candidates play and win the game 48 . By focusing on a particular topic and ignoring others, the me-120

Research questions
This paper is interested in how the 2008 U.S. Presidential election was framed in German newspapers. The following research questions attempt to explore the overall extent of this framing: RQ1: Is German newspaper coverage predominantly thematic or episodic? RQ2: What entities or individuals are assigned responsibility for causing problems and coming up with solutions? RQ3: Do image or issue-based frames predominate in German newspaper coverage? RQ4: What is the overall tone or bias? RQ5: What is the nature of the type and quality of issue information? RQ6: To what extent does newspaper coverage try to connect a story back to German culture (i.e. foci)?
These research questions stem from the work of those who advocate a package approach to framing analysis 53 .

Method
Election 2008 campaign stories from German newspapers were randomly collected during the fall campaign period. Election week editions from the newsstand were purchased during the first author's stay in Europe. These publications represented a wide selection of political viewpoints from several different regions of Germany. Only stories from the main news sections and editorial/opinion pages were included. A story was defined as each newspaper article, commentary/editorial, or feature about the U.S. Presidential election that listed a reporter's byline. Not every story was collected. Nonetheless, a representative sample of stories was collected. Coders were proficient in reading German and were trained beforehand.
The coding scheme was composed based on the framing elements mentioned below. While each element is examined separately, it is the taking together of these elements as a whole that hopefully conveys a glimpse of some patterns of underlying cultural frames or structures. This approach is consistent with those 54 who state that a series of manifest variables can represent a latent concept such as culture.

Thematic-Episodic
Stories were read in their entirety to determine whether they were predominantly thematic or episodic. If a story was judged to be two-thirds or more episodic, it was coded as episodic. An example of a thematic story would be a story on the background of the U.S. electoral system. An example of an episodic story would be a story that predominantly focuses on some isolated campaign incident such as Obama's choice of White House dog. A mixed category was included for those stories in which a predominant thrust could not be determined.

Responsibility
Responsibility included both causal and treatment dimensions 55 . Causal responsibility referred to assignment of blame for a problem. Treatment responsibility referred to solutions for these problems. Once again, a two-thirds rule was utilized for coding, with a mixed category for those stories in which multiple attributions of responsibility occurred.

Image/Issue
Patterson's scheme 56 that determines whether political stories are primarily image-based or issue-based was utilized. This scheme analyzed whether stories focused on frames of horse race coverage (who is winning or losing the game, polls), campaign issues (facts and rumors of scandals, dirty campaigning), campaign images (style of campaigning, personal appearance, likability), governing images (leadership ability, trust, knowledge/competence), policy (positions on issues), and candidate orientation (religious affiliation, personal background).

Tone
Stories were coded for their tone/bias in three separate areas of headlines, overall article, and any accompanying visuals. Stories were coded as positive if two-thirds or more of the story (headline, overall article, and accompanying visuals) referred to candidates and/or their policies in a positive manner. Stories were coded as negative if two-thirds or more of the story made predominantly negative references. This follows Ottosen's 57 work which argues that one actually can make four separate judgments about two candidates (pro or anti for each). If it could not be judged whether a story was primarily negative or positive, a mixed category was included. Finally, a neutral category was included for those stories that simply portrayed an event, i.e. McCain campaigns in Iowa with no valua-SP 4 '09 tion of that event. In addition, stories were coded (using the two-thirds rule) for overall tone towards the U.S.

Type and Quality of Issue Information
Stories were coded for the presence/predominance of issues. This category included specific issues such as war on terror, the economy, U.S./German relations. Campaign-related issues such as descriptions of the U.S. electoral system were included.
Coders also rated whether stories primarily focused on an individual, an issue, institutions/groups, or an overall country's culture. The quality of information was coded using Paletz's 58 continuum of sophistication, utility, and truth of news information. Coders rated the stories for sophistication (did the story present different angles), utility (did the story help illuminate the relevance of an issue or was the story merely 'fluff'?), and overall truthfulness (did the story represent consensus about what was said, or were there distortions/embellishments of a trait or issue stance?). Coders identified the degree of connectiveness back to German culture (high, medium, or low), and the primary cultural focus (individual leadership style, freedom, conservative/liberal, capitalism/socialism, or some other aspect of society such as race, religion, or class).

Results
The present investigation attempted to provide a snapshot of media coverage of the U.S. 2008 Presidential election in major German newspapers. Overall, 161 stories were coded. There were 54 stories from the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", 49 from "Die Welt", 33 from "Sueddeutsche Zeitung", 5 from "Bild Zeitung", and 19 from other daily papers. To determine whether coders reliably identified the instances of framing, three individuals independently coded a random sample of approximately 10 percent of the total instances. Inter-coder agreement was acceptable with 80% for the coding categories, and Cohen's kappa was acceptable (Î=.64.).

RQ1
The first research question asked whether coverage would be primarily episodic or thematic. Results indicated that the majority of stories (56%) were episodic, with 33 percent being thematic and 11 percent being mixed.

RQ2
The second research question looked at the nature of responsibility for problems. When a problem for some current state of affairs was mentioned (the case in about 2/3 of all stories), President George W. Bush received the most blame (14%). Other entities receiving blame were the U.S. government (13%), U.S. culture/citizenry (11%), the Republican party (9%), John McCain (5%), and Sarah Palin (4%).
In terms of who is able to treat a problem, Obama was the clear winner (38%). Even in stories where no one was assigned blame for a problem (or even in cases where no problem was mentioned); Obama was seen as the world's savior. The U.S. citizenry (11%) came in second. The remainder of stories focusing on treatment responsibility dealt with the inept campaign being run by McCain and the Republicans. McCain, Palin, and the Republicans all received about 5 percent each of the treatment responsibility in stories.

RQ3
The third research question asked about the predominance of issue/image frames. Horse race or game frames were predominant with 26 percent of all news stories reporting on how events impacted the election outcome. Specific policy issues, especially the economy, were second with 18 percent of stories. Governing images, campaign images, and candidate orientation/background each received about 15 percent of the focus in news stories. Finally, campaign issues received about 8 percent of the focus.

RQ4
The fourth research question analyzed the overall tone or bias in news coverage. Overall, German newspaper coverage presented a mixed (48%) analysis of the U.S. election system. An example would be a story that highlighted Obama's success but then tempered this joy by noting how evil that system was and still is-Obama's election almost as revenge. Positive stories occurred about 16% of the time and negative four percent of the time. Approximately 1/3 of news stories were neutral.
In terms of the specific candidates, it should not be surprising that Obama received the most positive coverage (both in visuals and in text). Nearly one-third of all photos were pro Obama, with one-third being neutral. Photos did not appear in about 1/4 of news stories. McCain was only portrayed positively in photos 3three percent of the time.
Obama was predominantly portrayed positively in 1/4 (25%) of news articles. No bias was present in about 27 percent of stories. As with overall tone, most German news stories presented a mixed picture (34%). Finally, almost one-third (29%) of headlines were pro Obama in nature. The remainder was either neutral (41%) or mixed (17%). Interestingly, 6 percent of headlines, the highest remaining total, were anti-Bush, even though he was not a candidate.

RQ5
The fifth research question ascertained the type and quality of issue information present. Most stories displayed moderate (39%) sophistication, with 32 percent of stories being low, and 29 percent of stories being high in sophistication. Again, most stories were moderate (45%) in their degree of information utility. Almost 40 percent (38%) were low in utility, with 17 percent being high in utility. Most stories were mixed (39%) in their degree of truth. Nearly one-third (34%) of stories were low in truth, with 27 percent being high in truth.

RQ6
The sixth research question tried to examine the degree of cultural connectivity back to Germany in several different categories. First, most stories did not (61%) try to connect the US election back to Germany. Only 12 percent of stories attempted to discuss implications for Germany or compare/contrast with Germany. One-third (28%) of stories presented a moderate amount of connectiveness.
In terms of cultural foci, there was a very high percentage (18%) of stories that focused on race, with the primary angle being how Obama's election is either a dream or a vindication for years of inequity in the US system. One-fifth (20%) of stories focused on the ego/personality of candidates. The democratic system or freedom received 16 percent of the focus. Stories with an angle about money in the political system occurred about 13 percent of the time. The nature of conservative/liberal politics in the USA was present in 7 percent of stories. About 5 percent of stories focused on the superficiality of a politician (usually McCain or Palin).
Overall, there was a strong focus on the personalization of politics (37%). US culture/country angle was present in about one-fourth of stories (24%). Overall government system (19%) was the focus in stories about the Electoral College, Wahlmaenner, etc. Specific policy discussion occurred in only about 12 percent of stories. Finally, leadership was presented mostly from a situational (34%) viewpoint. Charisma (mostly Obama's) came next with 26 percent of the stories. The remainder was split evenly between maverick (13%) and cool judge (11%).

Discussion
This paper was a case study of how the 2008 U.S. Presidential election was framed in German newspapers. The paper echoes those 59 who advocate the use of cultural frames as a strong heuristic tool in political communication. The importance and influence of culture in the framing process was stressed using a package approach. Taken together, the elements analyzed are potential indicators of underlying cultural frames or structures that were present in German newspaper coverage. The presence of such frame structures in German media texts could provide some elements of a symbolic language that culturally resonates "back home" with readers as they try to comprehend a different country's electoral system 60 . Examples of such elements were thematic/episodic framing, cultural connectivity, leadership style preference, race, personality, religion, conservative/liberal, and information quality/type.
Race was particularly interesting in the present study. It is probably most responsible for the moderate angle of information quality/type. German newspapers did a good job of reviewing the history of race in the United States. Several articles connected back to German political culture by asking not only is there a German Obama out there, but also is such a thing (minority rising to be leader of the country) even possible when one considers German history. This connectivity suffered somewhat by what seemed an overly strident focus on Obama's victory being revenge against an inherently racist, evil system.
German newspapers placed primary emphasis on the "Personalisierung" of the election. Individuals were presented and then analyzed as to their impact on election outcomes. Stories would focus on Rahm Emanuel as the deal maker (pro and con), potential Cabinet picks, but mostly Obama as a person more than his issue stances. There is definitely an "Obamamania" present in Germany. Some headlines even had variations on this theme. Obama's approval ratings have actually gone up compared to the post-election euphoria 61 .
Some focus on personality produced some interesting nuances. For example, Obama was seen as the Savior of the world, but after reflection, he might challenge Germany to some policy changes. However, Palin was almost nonexistent and there was not one story on Biden. McCain was mostly presented as an angry old man flailing at windmills with his dirty tactics. Finally, even though George W. Bush was not running, a good handful of articles reserved some vitriol for him as causing a lot of these problems, including reflections on his leadership style. Overall, there was little, if any, connectivity back to German culture.
In terms of cultural focus, German newspapers presented a muddle picture of the U.S. political system. Several articles commented how "only in America" was such an election possible. On the other hand, critiques of the conservative political philosophy were very prominent. Perhaps this mix is indicative of what Emmer at al. cite as Germany's long love-hate relationship with the United States 62 .
Overall, the common symbolic language in 2008 that Germans could read in their newspapers was mainly structured around episodic, image-based frames that provided little, if any, quality information about the U.S. election. This fact could be exacerbated by findings indicating that German audiences may actually get less knowledge with higher interest and exposure 63 .
The cumulative results of this paper amplify the work of those 64 who assert that media coverage of elections in other countries has a predominantly episodic focus of image-based horse-race or game frames. Hollihan 65 argues that such a framing process hinders the chance for effective learning of political issues. One result could be a: trivialization of public discourse and the erosion of electoral accountability" 66 . Delli Carpini and Keeter believe "the quality of the public debate on issues depends critically on the nature of information brought to the information marketplace and the ability of citizens to use this information to discern and articulate interests" 67 . In modern democratic societies, citizens' information about political institutions (like campaigns) is mostly filtered through the mass media. Misperceptions of a political process (in this case the U.S. electoral system) could occur which may result in an incomplete understanding of a political culture and its institutions 68 . This case study argues that German newspapers presented the U.S. election from a series of cultural perspectives or frames that were not helpful in presenting a complete and accurate picture for understanding the U.S. political system. This paper suffered from several limitations. First, the paper was limited in scope in that it focused on newspapers' coverage of one individual election. Trans and cross-national, perhaps longitudinal, comparisons would continue to be a fruitful avenue that expands on this. In addition, the paper was a content analysis that examined how the election was covered. Future research should connect such media framing analyses with surveys of these groups to provide a more complete picture of the influence of culture in the framing process.

Conclusion
This paper agrees with scholars who argue for more cross-national perspectives that explore the differences between U.S. and European framing of news, including elections 69 . The similarities in these perspectives can help understand and explain cultural frames present in different coun-tries= media. This paper supports the call of those 70 that encourage future researchers to collaborate on excavating the frameworks of these struc-tures to find elements of common cultural identities that can create shared meaning.