Abstract
This paper uses data from the 2001 Australian Candidate Study (ACS) to
examine the extent to which candidates used the new media to communicate with
voters and for private consumption, such as news gathering and email. These uses of
the new technology are then related to other more traditional forms of election
campaigning, such as direct mailing and canvassing. Finally, the impact of all of
these various forms of campaigning are assessed in terms of their effects on the vote.
The findings reveal that personal Internet use and public web campaigning are
influenced by different factors, the latter being more common among younger
members of the Australian Labor Party. However, both types of new media usage by
candidates are linked with conventional forms of campaigning and most significantly,
linked to the level of support they receive. The findings, while clearly relevant to
scholars of politics and new ICTs, also add to the growing literature on local parties
and election campaigning, which has been a relatively understudied area until
recently.
Convention