A d y s i s of 830 teleuisbn spotsjEom dgbtpreddmtiad campaips sbotved tbat tbe ckegdvi.sna'' cbarged to tbe 1988 ones and tba# wbat tends to diHhmthaie n e g d v e j k n n positive ads fs notparty or dncrmrbency buta morej+vquer# appeal to voters'fears.No aspect of modern political campaigning has received as much attention as the phenomenon of negative advertising. Although most observers acknowledge that political attacks are not unique to recent campaigns (4, lo), television's ability to quickly reach millions of voters has elevated negative advertisements to the level of mediated argumentation (2) whereby candidates exchange positions and views through their campaign ads.Negative ads and positive ads are generally distinguished by their relative emphasis on the sponsoring candidate and his or her opponent. Negative ads focus on criticisms of the opponent, while positive ads focus on the "good" characteristics, accomplishments, or issue positions of the sponsoring candidate. Negative ads were aired in the first presidential campaign to use television, the 1952 Eisenhower-Stevenson race. Several commercials from the "Eisenhower Answers America" series overtly attack the Democrats, although Stevenson was not usually mentioned by name (10). Most subsequent campaigns have had some standout negative ads, none more famous than the 1964 "Daisy Girl" spot produced for Lyndon Johnson by Tony Schwartz (25).Beginning in 1980, however, with the successful use of negative ads by independent groups such as NCPAC (1,9), such ads seemed to become more prevalent. By 1981 Sabato (24) estimated that one-third of all campaign spots were negative, and Joslyn's (11) more systematic analysis of a convenience sample of campaign ads found 23 percent with a blame-placing focus.

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Populations of large carnivores are declining globally, and analysis of public discourse about carnivores is useful for understanding public opinion and influences on management and policy. Portrayal of carnivores in the media affects public perceptions and support for their conservation. We conducted a content analysis of 513 articles about Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) published from 2003 to 2006 in newspapers with local circulation in core panther habitat in southwest Florida and papers with statewide circulation to compare the differences in the amount of coverage and portrayals of panther risks to people and property on the basis of proximity of human communities to panthers. Local papers published significantly more news articles and significantly longer news articles primarily about panthers. Articles in local and statewide papers used both episodic frames, which focus on specific occurrences (e.g., a panther sighting or predation) and thematic frames, which focus on general trends (e.g., abundance of panthers over time). Local articles more often emphasized risks that panthers might harm people, pets, or livestock than statewide papers. Our results are consistent with theory that proximity to human-carnivore conflict influences perceptions and salience of risks posed by large carnivores. Most articles mentioned panthers as a secondary topic, which we believe was a result of the relevance an endangered carnivore has in discussions of public land management, development, and regulations in Florida. Claims made by sources quoted in each article had a neutral to positive depiction of panthers, and most quotations were from federal and state agency scientists. We suggest continued use by the media of agency sources provides the opportunity for clear, concordant messages about panther management. Content analysis provides a way to monitor media portrayal of carnivores for consistency with agency outreach goals.

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