Yes, party conventions matter – ABC News
The potential echo chamber effect of political conventions may also be amplified by today’s high level of political polarization and increasingly diversified media market, in which voters can choose to get their political news from a wide variety of sources. “Back in the day, there used to be three news stations that everyone tuned into, and they all were pretty moderate, and they showed the same things largely,” said Aaron Weinschenk, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. “Now you can avoid anything you don’t want, and watch anything you want, and watch it repeatedly.”
…Generating positive post-convention buzz and momentum can be seen as one of the parties’ main goals for their conventions.
So which moments go viral? “If I had to guess, it would be the unexpected moments or the unusual moments,” said Weinschenk. He pointed to a moment during the 2012 RNC when actor and director Clint Eastwood addressed an empty chair as if it were President Barack Obama — it became such a meme that people changed their Facebook profile photos to the chair afterward. Meanwhile, an enduring image from this year’s RNC may be attendees wearing ear bandages in solidarity with the former president following the assassination attempt against him.
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