Web campaigning and the 2000 presidential election: A new paradigm in political communication

News media were criticized for their “horse race” coverage of political campaigns. Candidates' views and positions were filtered through media lenses and framed in ways that might not be fair or beneficial to some candidates. Moreover, candidates were infrequently allowed to speak for themselves and have direct mass-mediated communication with voters.; The study argues that Web campaigning is a new paradigm that allowed candidates to bypass traditional media and communicate directly with voters. This process of disintermediation enables candidates to provide in-depth campaign information to voters at affordable cost. Because of its interactivity, the Web has the potential of making political campaigns more voter-driven.; Based on review of literature on media coverage of political campaigns, this study asked questions that investigated the uses of candidates' Websites during the 2000 presidential election. The study also investigated the use of the Web by political science professors and political consultants, and sought their views on Web campaigning. The study employed two quantitative research methods: analysis of content, and a survey instrument.; The study finds that the Web provided the 2000 presidential candidates with more opportunities to tell their stories, advance their agendas, frame campaign issues, attack opponents and respond to opponents' attacks. The candidates used their Websites for Webcasting, narrowcasting and getting out the vote. The study also finds that some of the candidates used their Websites effectively to raise money and recruit volunteers.; The study concludes that the 2000 presidential candidates used their Websites to provide substantive information to voters, set the agendas, frame the issues, recruit volunteers and raise money online during the campaign. The study also concludes that because the candidates wanted to control the agendas, they did not utilize the Web's interactive features to engage voters in online debates. Unless voters demand that Web campaigning be more interactive, candidates will continue to use the Web as they have used traditional media.