We gathered research to help journalists explain how presidential debates influence voters’ decisions. These papers look at aggressive behavior on stage, the likelihood candidates’ performance will change voters’ minds and other topics.
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In a Q&A, Harvard media scholar Thomas E. Patterson, who studies political journalism, explains the recent shift in tone in news coverage of President Biden.
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“The first presidential debate is but a week away. The challenge for news outlets will be to try to capture the debate as a whole and not through the lens of its most sensational moment,” writes Thomas E. Patterson.
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“Election Beat 2020” is a new series of columns authored by Thomas E. Patterson at Harvard Kennedy School. In his inaugural piece, he discusses the problem of “meta-narratives.”
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Nearly every 2020 Democratic candidate polling above half a percentage point nationally supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Most research finds small job losses from minimum wage hikes.
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