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Objective. We revisit earlier studies investigating depictions of public service in children's literature, attempting to answer the question of how public servants are portrayed. Methods. We perform content analysis of 93 books & examine 868 characters for benevolence & competence. Results. We find that public servants are portrayed as no more incompetent or malevolent than other adults in children's literature. On a few dimensions, we find just the opposite. Women in general are portrayed as more benevolent than men, although the same patterns are not found between sexes when examining only those in the public service. Conclusions. If children are developing negative stereotypes of government officials & institutions, these stereotypes do not appear to be formed through their reading of children's literature. 4 Tables, 1 Figure, 1 Appendix, 20 References. Adapted from the source document.

Explores changing portrayal of civilian-sector employees and elected officials and depiction of themes involving governmental practices and performance in prime time television programming, and extent to which the public's increasingly negative attitudes might be formed by the programs; US. Based on a study of 9,588 characters in 1,234 programs, of whom 561 (6%) were either public officials or federal, state, or local civil servants.

Examines how TV news narratives convey meaning to viewers & work to construct a mythology of the existing social order, drawing on data from an investigation of Swedish TV news. It is shown that, although TV news functions at one level to broadcast information, at another level it operates to construct a mythic portrayal of the social order. This mythology consists of recurrent symbolic displays of the state & other social institutions as a coherent totality, a constant monitoring of social conflict & controversy in a way that renders them safe for public consumption & an invitation to viewers to establish personal loyalty to the social order. This mythology insinuates itself into the public consciousness through its resonance with the everyday life of viewers. It is concluded that scholars are quite right to be critical of the ideological work performed by the TV news, but they ought also to recognize the utopian dimension of this mythic function. D. Ryfe

In den letzten Jahren sind sowohl die Massenmedien als auch die persönliche Kommunikation als Informationsquellen des politischen Wahlverhaltens verstärkt diskutiert worden. Über einen genaueren Zusammenhang liegen jedoch nur unvollständig empirische Untersuchungen vor. Von Katz und Lazarsfeld ist 1955 die 'Filter-Hypothese' über einen zweistufigen Kommunikationsfluß aufgestellt worden: Danach wirken die Massenmedien nicht unmittelbar auf die Einstellungen ihrer Rezipienten ein, sondern nur indirekt über 'Meinungsführer', die als Mittler zu und in informellen Gruppierungen auftreten. Das Arbeitspapier überprüft die Hypothese erneut an Hand von Wahlergebnissen aus Großbritannien, Spanien, den USA und der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Die Daten bestätigen im wesentlichen die Hypothese, wenn die Eigenheiten der jeweiligen Parteiensysteme verstärkt berücksichtigt werden. (ICAÜbers)

The ramifications of a reported April 2004 memo between President George W. Bush to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair that expressed Bush's desire to attack the Qatar headquarters of the Arab media corporation al-Jazerra for the freedom and security of the international media are contemplated. Even though the authenticity of the reported memo remains unconfirmed, it is noted that the US military has attacked al-Jazerra offices in Afghanistan and Iraq during George W. Bush's presidency. After discussing the political significance of al-Jazerra, several charges against the Bush administration that suggest the memo's authenticity are presented, eg, the Bush administration's manipulation of the national and international media. However, it is noted that such charges against the Bush administration are partially muted by particular Arab commentators' disinclination to portray al-Jazerra as the mouthpiece for the Arab people and that other critics' contention that al-Jazerra is perpetrating division within the Middle Eastern Arab community.

The place taken by the media in the political system in the recent period has undoubtedly contributed to the strengthening of their dimension as a countervailing power and, taken all media together, has increased their role in the political debate. While the various powers have integrated information in the logical course of their action, it can still make an independent intrusion and disrupt pre-established plans. In the age of the internet and social networks, a fifth power has emerged which threatens the predominance of information. In this context, the media can launch into a ruthless and useless competition or, instead, establish their particular role in the public space thanks to the meticulousness of their work. Adapted from the source document.