Date of Award
1982
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Abstract
This study examines the televised political image-making of Louis Lambert during his unsuccessful 1979 Louisiana gubernatorial campaign. During the campaign, over $20 million was spent by the six major candidates for the office of governor. Lambert spent approximately $3.5 million, with the majority of this money being spent on televised advertisement. The study includes an overview of Lambert's campaign followed by an analysis of his campaign. The three different phases of the campaign and the three media consultants Lambert employed is analyzed. The study also examines the verbal and non-verbal aspects of Lambert's political commercials. The study revealed that political image-making is an important factor in a campaign. Moreover, the negative image a candidate projects can possibly have worse effect on an individual's candidacy than a positive image. The study also contends that additional aspects of political communication, such as campaign organization, direct-mail, phone banks, polling, and campaign strategy work together with the image-making aspect to strengthen a campaign.
Recommended Citation
Karam, Thomas Joseph, "Political Imagemaking: an Analysis of the Television Commercials Aired During Louis Lambert's 1979 Gubernatorial Campaign." (1982). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 3725.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/3725
Pages
140
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.3725