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The intention of this analysis is to examine The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's coverage of politics and assess the persuasive power of the program's unique brand of humor. Evidence from a content analysis of The Daily Show's 'Indecision 2004' coverage of the Democratic and Republican Party Conventions shows the program's humor was much harsher during the Republican Convention than it was during the Democratic Convention. While the humor in both conventions was heavily based on self-deprecation and the exploitation of conventional political stereotypes, the ridicule of Republicans focused much more on policy and character flaws. Humor pointed toward Democrats, on the other hand, tended to focus more on innocuous physical attributes. Analysis of panel data collected by the National Annenberg Election Survey during the 2004 national party conventions shows that exposure to The Daily Show's convention coverage was associated with increased negativity toward President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. These relationships remain significant even when controlling for partisan identification and ideology. Attitudes toward the Democratic ticket, John Kerry and John Edwards remained consistent. Adapted from the source document.

Objectives. This research explores the consequences of a fragmented television news audience. The recent proliferation of a wide array of television news sources has influenced the manner in which a large number of Americans get their information about politics and government. The political consequences of media fragmentation and the polarization of the U.S. television news audience are explored.Methods. I analyze data on television news‐gathering habits and political attitudes collected from several surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center during the 2004 presidential election campaign.Results. The Fox News Channel has been the main beneficiary of television news fragmentation by appealing to those individuals who have become disillusioned with what they perceive as a liberally‐biased mainstream media. The findings show that the Fox News audience has a distinct set of political attitudes regarding President Bush and his opposition. Evidence also indicates that the Fox News audience has distinct voting behavior patterns, even when controlling for party identification. Finally, the results illustrate that Fox News watchers have perceptions of political reality that differ from the rest of the television news audience.Conclusions. The television news audience is divided along political lines. This division could contribute toward further political polarization among the U.S. mass public as the content of television news coverage of politics becomes less and less homogenized.

ObjectivesThis research explores the consequences of a fragmented television news audience. The recent proliferation of a wide array of television news sources has influenced the manner in which a large number of Americans get their information about politics and government. The political consequences of media fragmentation and the polarization of the U.S. television news audience are explored. MethodsI analyze data on television news-gathering habits and political attitudes collected from several surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center during the 2004 presidential election campaign. ResultsThe Fox News Channel has been the main beneficiary of television news fragmentation by appealing to those individuals who have become disillusioned with what they perceive as a liberally-biased mainstream media. The findings show that the Fox News audience has a distinct set of political attitudes regarding President Bush and his opposition. Evidence also indicates that the Fox News audience has distinct voting behavior patterns, even when controlling for party identification. Finally, the results illustrate that Fox News watchers have perceptions of political reality that differ from the rest of the television news audience. ConclusionsThe television news audience is divided along political lines. This division could contribute toward further political polarization among the U.S. mass public as the content of television news coverage of politics becomes less and less homogenized. Adapted from the source document.

Today's American political news environment is more fragmented than ever before. In order to attract a larger audience, many political news reporters, editors, and producers work to create a product that is not only informative, but also entertaining and compelling. A popular method of achieving this goal is to dramatize news coverage of politics. While the goal of dramatizing the news is to entertain, previous research has discussed a number of possible side effects. Empirical evidence on this subject, however, is seriously lacking. Using a controlled laboratory experiment, this article analyzes the effect of dramatically embellished news on public opinion. The results indicate that, although entertaining for some, dramatically embellished political news has some negative effects on larger political attitudes, including overall support for political leaders and trust in the news media.

This aricle analyzes data from the Pew Research Center's 1998 to 2004 Biennial Media Consumption Surveys to identify demographic and behavioral factors that predict Americans' exposure to cable and broadcast nightly news. While many predictors are significant across sources, much of the evidence indicates the audiences are unique. The network news audience is becoming increasingly older, and the Fox News and CNN audiences are becoming increasingly polarized. Compared to the CNN audience, Fox News watchers are less likely to follow stories that are critical of the Bush administration but more likely to follow entertainment-based news stories. The findings also suggest that Fox News watchers enjoy news that shares their personal views, while the CNN and network news audiences prefer news that has more in-depth interviews with public officials. Finally, evidence suggests that the Fox News watchers were more likely than nonwatchers to underestimate rather than overestimate, the number of American casualties in Iraq.

This aricle analyzes data from the Pew Research Center's 1998 to 2004 Biennial Media Consumption Surveys to identify demographic and behavioral factors that predict Americans exposure to cable and broadcast nightly news. While many predictors are significant across sources, much of the evidence indicates the audiences are unique. The network news audience is becoming increasingly older, and the Fox News and CNN audiences are becoming increasingly polarized. Compared to the CNN audience, Fox News watchers are less likely to follow stories that are critical of the Bush administration but more likely to follow entertainment-based news stories. The findings also suggest that Fox News watchers enjoy news that shares their personal views, while the CNN and network news audiences prefer news that has more in-depth interviews with public officials. Finally, evidence suggests that the Fox News watchers were more likely than nonwatchers to underestimate rather than overestimate, the number of American casualties in Iraq.

Today's American political news environment is more fragmented than ever before. In order to attract a larger audience, many political news reporters, editors, & producers work to create a product that is not only informative, but also entertaining & compelling. A popular method of achieving this goal is to dramatize news coverage of politics. While the goal of dramatizing the news is to entertain, previous research has discussed a number of possible side-effects. Empirical evidence on this subject, however, is seriously lacking. Using a controlled laboratory experiment, this article analyzes the effect of dramatically-embellished news on public opinion. The results indicate that, although entertaining for some, dramatically-embellished political news has some negative effects on larger political attitudes, including overall support for political leaders & trust in the news media. 8 Tables, 1 Appendix, 39 References. Adapted from the source document.

This study examines the modern-day television "news grazer" in American politics. We define news grazers as those individuals who watch television news with remote control in hand & switch to another channel when an uninteresting topic comes up. Using survey data from the Pew Research Center, we find that news grazers differ significantly from nongrazers in news-gathering habits, political knowledge, & behavior. These effects remain significant even when controlling for other factors associated with news-grazing frequency, such as age & gender. The implications for the present & future of democratic political engagement are discussed. Tables, Figures, References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2007 the President and the Fellows of Harvard College.]

This study examines the modern-day television "news grazer" in American politics. We define news grazers as those individuals who watch television news with remote control in hand and switch to another channel when an uninteresting topic comes up. Using survey data from the Pew Research Center, we find that news grazers differ significantly from nongrazers in news-gathering habits, political knowledge, and behavior. These effects remain significant even when controlling for other factors associated with news-grazing frequency, such as age and gender. The implications for the present and future of democratic political engagement are discussed.

This research assesses whether conflict-laden news coverage affects public perceptions of political institutions and political elites in general. Particularly, is conflict-oriented television news coverage of politics contributing to negative evaluations of political institutions and their leaders? We present evidence from an experiment designed to address this question. Our experiment is constructed around media coverage of the State of the Union Address. We control for the source of news (CNN), and examine how CNN's Crossfire and Inside Politics' coverage and analyses of the State of the Union Address influenced the attitudes and perceptions of viewers. We find that conflict-laden television coverage decreases public evaluations of political institutions, trust in leadership, and overall support for political parties and the system as a whole. Our findings have implications for public opinion in an era of increased abundance of high-conflict cable news talk shows that turn the political process into a contact sport.