{"id":90263,"date":"2008-11-20T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2008-11-20T05:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2008\/11\/20\/sarah-palin-and-the-culture-wars\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:16:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:16:22","slug":"sarah-palin-and-the-culture-wars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2008\/11\/20\/sarah-palin-and-the-culture-wars\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarah Palin and the \u201cCulture Wars\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

A distinguishing feature of the coverage of the race was how \u2013 with the notable exception of abortion \u2013 there was little discussion of the culture war issues that have influenced American politics in the last several decades. Media coverage of abortion amounted to 9% of religion coverage in the campaign. Attention to gay marriage and stem cell research made up a fraction of 1% of coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

In some ways, Palin became the media\u2019s vehicle to touch on these issues. After her selection, Palin dominated election coverage for several weeks. According to PEJ\u2019s Campaign Coverage Index<\/a>, between Aug. 29 and Sept. 15, four of the top 10 storylines focused on her, accounting for 39% of all campaign coverage for that period, which includes religion-focused reporting.<\/p>\n\n

Much of that early coverage focused on her personal life, including her family values, church background and beliefs. But that initial focus had a strong presence in the religion narrative. Stories about Palin\u2019s family background and beliefs accounted for fully 25% of campaign coverage focused on religious issues. The coverage later turned toward her public record and impact on the Republican ticket.<\/p>\n\n

Most of this coverage touched on, or speculated about, Palin\u2019s views on abortion and family values in light of her choice to give birth to a baby with Down syndrome and her unmarried daughter\u2019s pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n

A Sept. 2 San Francisco Chronicle front-page article tied the pregnancy of Palin\u2019s daughter, Bristol, to her mother\u2019s policy positions: \u201cPalin \u2013 a staunch advocate of abstinence education \u2013 acknowledged in a statement that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol is five-months pregnant.\u201d Another front-page article the same day in USA Today also linked the news with Palin\u2019s views: \u201cDave Robertson, a political scientist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said social conservatives will likely give Palin and her family \u2018the benefit of the doubt\u2019 because of the governor\u2019s views against abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

These stories on Palin\u2019s biography usually fell short of examining how her belief system informs her policy choices. Of all Palin\u2019s religion-focused coverage, only 2% dealt directly with abortion policy implications, and 4% examined her religious belief system. <\/p>\n\n

There were occasions when the mainstream media attempted to deal directly with the policy implications of Palin\u2019s beliefs, but in one notable case, a journalist was criticized for the way he went about it. At one point in Charles Gibson\u2019s ABC interview with Palin in September, he challenged her on a comment she once made about God\u2019s will and the war in Iraq: \u201cYou said recently, in your old church, \u2018Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.\u2019 Are we fighting a holy war?\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Palin was quick to respond by saying that one cannot presume to know God\u2019s will and indicating that was the intent of her original statement. Critics argued that Gibson took the quote out of context and failed to grasp the theological nuance of what Palin intended. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A distinguishing feature of the coverage of the race was how \u2013 with the notable exception of abortion \u2013 there was little discussion of the culture war issues that have influenced American politics in the last several decades. Media coverage of abortion amounted to 9% of religion coverage in the campaign. Attention to gay marriage 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