Topics and participation in the Univision Democratic debate (March 2016)

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See also: Univision Miami Democratic debate (March 9, 2016)



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This article analyzes the central themes of the eighth Democratic presidential debate held on March 9, 2016, in Miami, Florida. The transcript prepared by The Washington Post was used to measure candidate participation and audience engagement.[1] Footage from the debate was consulted where there were ambiguities in the text.

To compare the statistics of this debate to those of the previous Democratic debate, see the analysis of the CNN debate held on March 6, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Approximately one-third of the discussion segments related to immigration reform and issues facing Latinos in the United States and abroad.
  • Hillary Clinton was called on to speak first three times as often as Bernie Sanders.
  • The most commonly spoken words by both Clinton and Sanders were "people" and "think."
  • Segments

    Including opening and closing statements, this debate featured 20 unique discussion segments covering immigration reform, the economy and other domestic issues. These discussion segments were measured by any shift in the theme of a discussion prompted by one of the moderators: Maria Elena Salinas, Jorge Ramos and Karen Tumulty.

    Approximately one-third of the discussion segments related to immigration reform and issues facing Latinos in the United States and abroad. Another third covered issues relating to the individual political careers and campaigns of Clinton, Sanders, and Trump.

    Participants

    Overall participation

    Participation in a discussion segment was defined as a substantive comment related to the discussion segment's topic. Jokes and attempts to gain permission from a moderator to speak were not considered participatory speech acts. In some instances, candidates who participated in a discussion segment diverted from the prompted topic.

    Clinton and Sanders participated in almost every discussion segment.

    Candidate participation by speaking order

    This study also calculated the number of times a candidate spoke first, second, third, or fourth during a discussion segment, whether prompted by a moderator with a question or invitation to rebut or by interjection.

    Clinton was called on to speak first three times as often as Sanders.

    Audience engagement

    Audience engagement was measured by noting applause, cheering, or laughter in The Washington Post's transcript. Footage from the debate was consulted when the text was ambiguous about to whom the audience was responding.

    With 59 positive responses from the live audience, Sanders again registered more audience engagement than Clinton.

    The discussion segments on debt-free higher education, Clinton's Wall Street speeches and the deportation of children and individuals without criminal records received the most audience engagement overall.

    Candidate analysis

    Word cloud of Hillary Clinton's speech during the debate
    Hillary-Clinton-circle.png
    • Candidate: Hillary Clinton
    • Number of words: 6,120
    • Most commonly used words:
      • People: 44
      • Think: 36
      • President: 30
      • Senate: 30
      • Know: 29
    Word cloud of Bernie Sanders' speech during the debate
    Bernie-Sanders-circle.png
    • Candidate: Bernie Sanders
    • Number of words: 4,513
    • Most commonly used words:
      • People: 39
      • Think: 32
      • Country: 31
      • Secretary: 28
      • Unite: 25

    See also

    Footnotes