Public opinion polls point to a continuing decline in confidence in the Presidency, court system, Congress, the news media, state government, public education, and other key institutions. Moy and Pfau analyze the reasons for this crisis of confidence, with particular attention to the role of the media.Moy and Pfau examine the impact of sociodemographic factors, political expertise, and use of communication media on people's perceptions of confidence in democratic institutions. Their conclusions are based on two years of data collection. In three waves between 1995 and 1997, they conducted a series of content analyses of media depictions of democratic institutions in conjunction with general survey data. The result is one of the most comprehensive examinations ever conducted on the influence of the media on public confidence. It will be of great value to scholars, researchers, students, and professionals in government and the media.
Author(s): Patricia Moy, Michael Pfau
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 240
Preliminaries......Page 1
Contents......Page 7
Series Foreword......Page 9
Preface......Page 13
Acknowledgments......Page 17
1 Erosion of Confidence......Page 21
2 The Question of Causality......Page 49
3 Design of the Studies......Page 69
4 Media Depictions of Institutions......Page 87
5 The Print Media’s Contribution......Page 103
7 The Effects of Television Programming......Page 153
8 The Effects of Political Talk Radio......Page 179
9 Conclusions......Page 197
References......Page 209
Index......Page 229
