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Chapter 18
Mass-Mediated Political
Communication Effects
1
Influences on Political
Communication




Social scene
Political landscape
Media environment
Media content
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Functions of Mass Media in
Democracy
1.
2.
3.
4.
Surveillance of contemporary events that are likely
to impinge upon the welfare of citizens
Identification of key sociopolitical issues
Provision of platforms for advocacy
Transmission of diverse content across the various
dimensions and factions of political discourse
3
Functions of Mass Media in
Democracy (Cont’d)
5.
6.
7.
8.
Scrutiny of government officials
Incentives and information to allow citizens to
become more actively informed participants
Principled resistance to external sources
attempting to subvert media autonomy
Respectful consideration of the audience as
potentially concerned and efficacious citizens
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Media Content

Two types:
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
Political advertising: primary form of
communication between political candidates and
the voting public
News stories: television advertising for political
candidates

usually used for major campaigns
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Media Content (Cont’d)

Political ads on television usually:

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Present particular candidate images
Provide information about key issues
Provide more information about campaign issues
than candidate images
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Types of Media Content
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Frames
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Abstract notions that media professionals use
to present news stories
News flaws
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Personalization
Fragmentation
Dramatization
Normalization
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News Flaws That Influence
Political Communication

Personalization


The tendency for news stories to concentrate on
individuals when reporting on large-scale social
concerns
Fragmentation

The delivery of news in brief capsule summaries
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News Flaws That Influence
Political Communication
(Cont’d)

Dramatization

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News is selected based on entertainment value
rather than its importance as an issue.
Normalization

News stories show how particular problems can
be solved within the existing political system.
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Research on Political
Communication Effects



Most political communication studies
concentrate on the individual.
Macro-level studies examine effects on
systems.
The nature and strength of effects from
mediated political communication depend
on a number of different factors.
10
Micro-level Studies
Four major areas:

1.
2.
3.
4.
Formation and change of opinion
Effects of cognitive processes
Voter perceptions of the political system
Effects on political behavior or participation
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Formation and Change of
Opinion


Political media messages produce much
stronger effects than previously thought.
Models used to conduct studies:



Petty and Cacioppo’s Elaboration Likelihood
Model
Fishbein and Ajzen’s reasoned action model
Variables of interest in persuasion include:

message variables, channels, timing, audience
variables, and effects from polling information
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Effects of Cognitive Processes
Four types of research have been used:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Agenda-setting research
Priming research
Knowledge gain
Framing
Researchers have tried to measure
audiences’ broader understanding of
political information conveyed in news
stories.
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Voter Perceptions



Voters are persuaded less by personal
“pocketbook” matters than by their perceptions
about the economic health of the country.
Media coverage may cause voters to perceive
individuals to be responsible for particular social
problems such as poverty or crime.
Two types of frames for political news stories:


Episodic- using case study examples
Thematic- approaching an issue from a general
perspective
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Political Behavior

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Media effects may be direct or indirect.
Political ads have proven effective in influencing
voting decisions.
Many people learn from political ads and may be
influenced by both positive and negative ads.
Negative political ads are effective in influencing
voters when:


Voters perceive them to be fair
They focus on issues that are important to voters
15
Political Behavior (Cont’d)

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People tend to remember negative ads more
than positive ads.
Adwatches provide analyses, interpretations
and evaluations of the ads.
The strength of influence on voting behavior
attributed to interpersonal communication has
varied.
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Macro-level Studies


Few macro-level effects studies are
conducted due to difficulties in measurement.
Purely descriptive macro-level studies
abound
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Descriptive Macro Studies
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
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Few people are politically knowledgeable
and active.
People with high levels of education tend to
vote more often.
Television has been blamed for problems
with the American political system.
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Effects on Policy Making


The use of investigative reporting contributed
to civic reforms in several areas.
Media publicity has been shown to help
lawmakers achieve their goals and raise
money toward reelection campaigns.
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Factors Influencing Media
Effects

Individual characteristics influence:
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Party preferences
Personal images or evaluations of the news
media
Personal motivations for particular gratifications
Information processing

The more attention a person gives to a story, the
more the person learns from it.
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