2013 New York City Mayoral Primary

Abstract

This study explores newspaper discussions of the intersectional identities of political candidates. Specifically, this study focuses on reporting of the 2013 New York City democratic mayoral primary and identifies how reporters of The New York Times discussed the identities of mayoral hopefuls Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio, and Bill Thompson. The results indicated that Christine Quinn, as the only woman and openly gay candidate, was mentioned more frequently in discussions related to gender and sexuality than were the other two candidates. The results also indicated that Bill de Blasio, who was white with a mixed-race family, and Bill Thompson, the only black candidate in the democratic primary, were mentioned more frequently in discussions related to race than Quinn was. Further, the study finds that the reporting of The New York Times focused on both the sensitizing nature and the novelty of each candidate’s identity. Finally, the study suggests implications of this media focus for discussions of intersectional identity in newspaper reporting of political campaigns.