Suchergebnisse

Research on adolescent political and civic engagement has focused on a wide variety of socializing agents, including parents, school, peers, and the media. This study builds an explanatory model that connects macro-level (e.g., religion, education) and micro-level (parents, school curricula, and media) socialization agents. Using the ecological systems model of child development, the study shows a pattern of influence involving parents' political engagement and civic engagement, as well as teens' use of online political media. Media influence in the context of other factors is noted, along with the model's implications for further research on political socialization.

This study analyzed the content of news releases posted on the presidential candidate Web sites of George W. Bush and John Kerry during the 2004 election campaign. Findings suggest topics like terrorism and the war in Iraq received significant attention in the news releases, supplanting traditional campaign policy issues such as education, social security, and Medicare. The 2004 online campaign news releases also confirmed the prominence of attack over policy issues in the two major party candidates' rhetoric. Also, 80% of the news releases posted by George Bush and John Kerry on their campaign Web sites contained an attack against the opposition. Finally, approximately 80% of the overall 2004 online news releases posted by Bush and Kerry on their campaign Web sites contained at least one reference to candidates' personality traits.

This study examines the news releases that were posted on the official campaign Web sites of George W. Bush and Al Gore during the 2000 presidential campaign. Analysis of each of the 487 news releases posted during the campaign season reveals that nearly three-quarters of these contained an attack on the opponent. This parallels data on the incidence of attacks appearing in televised political advertising during the 2000 campaign. The study provides support for the Political Competition Model, which posits that close races produce significant negativity. Furthermore, the study offers insights on how presidential political campaigns may use campaign Web sites in the future.

This study suggests that local television news directors may be considering new reporting strategies during political campaigns. The impetus appears to be a concern that citizens are getting more of their political information from the advertisements, along with a recognition that new technologies might be used in new and innovative ways during election seasons. Variables associated with the willingness to adopt new technologies and consider new political reporting strategies are analyzed.

A population study of television news directors was conducted in spring 1992 to assess their plans for coverage of the 1992 election. The findings revealed an interest in providing greater election analysis, with strong emphasis on the coverage of political advertising. In addition, the news directors reported that they planned to use the new satellite-based technologies to enhance their coverage efforts. These changes might signal a significant new proactive role for local television news in election coverage.

This case study explores gender stereotyping by comparing the ways in which vice presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden were portrayed on Internet blogs. Results suggest Palin did not suffer from a lack of attention. While she did receive a considerable amount of coverage focusing on her personality and personal life in comparison to Democratic candidate Joe Biden, that was likely a result of her unique candidacy and persona. Perhaps most important, the blogs did not play to traditional gender stereotypes concerning issue coverage even as a stereotypically male issue dominated the political agenda.

The authors hypothesized that information consistent with an evoked knowledge structure will tend to reinforce the structure. However, inconsistent information will tend to produce greater amounts of free recall because the inconsistencies will become salient. Finally, inconsistent information in text form will tend to produce more recall than inconsistent information presented on television or on the radio. The authors gave subjects consistent and inconsistent information on two topics, forest fire (harmful or medicinal to the environment) and population growth (good or bad for the society). These factors were also varied by medium of presentation used. Subjects were tested for recall and willingness to make inferences. Subjects receiving consistent information were most willing to infer while those receiving inconsistent information were more likely to remember more facts from the stimulus. Mode of presentation had little effect.

From Legacy Media to Going Viral: Generational Media Use and Citizen Engagement examines how the prominent media available shapes each rising generation of citizens. The authors discuss how global and national events along with the media each generational group most frequently accessed defined these groups.

This report explores the variables related to partisan selective media exposure, a process by which people select media outlets and content consistent with their political predispositions. This study employs national survey data ( N = 876) during the month of October 2012 immediately prior to the U.S. presidential election. Political orientation (i.e., liberal, moderate, or conservative) served as the dependent variable. The analysis revealed that political orientation was related to gender, race, and religion. The civic engagement variables of participation in a church project and participation in volunteer work within one's community were also related. Finally, the results suggest that conservatives were most prone to use conservative talk radio, Christian radio and TV, and Fox News. Liberals were more prone to use PBS and Facebook. As such, the data indicate that audience members appear to seek out partisan media and messages consistent with their political leanings. The implications of partisan selective media exposure concerning the development of political knowledge are discussed.