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Media Coverage (media + coverage)
Selected AbstractsThe World's Nicest Grown-Up: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of News Media Coverage of Fred RogersJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 1 2003Ronald Bishop This article applies fantasy theme analysis (Bormann, 1972, 1976, 1982, 1983, 2000) to explain the rhetorical vision that emerges from newspaper and broadcast news coverage of American television personality Fred Rogers. For the past 3 decades, journalists have framed Rogers as a calming influence and treated him with deference and respect. Journalists have created a fantasy about Rogers that holds him up as the embodiment of television's potential, potential that can be realized only by returning to the quiet tolerance and the power of imagination at the heart of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. For reporters in this interpretive community, Rogers offers hope for those struggling to raise children. A rhetorical vision of Rogers as "the world's nicest grown-up," the "Dalai Lama of television," and "the Pied Piper of children's television" is constructed out of the fantasy themes by journalists stepping outside their usual role as objective observers. Journalists who start off skeptical of Rogers and his approach find themselves captivated by his message, and they insert this experience into their coverage of Rogers, making it a key fantasy theme. [source] Death for a Terrorist: Media Coverage of the McVeigh Execution as a Case Study in Interorganizational Partnering between the Public and Private SectorsPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 5 2003Linda Wines Smith In June 2001, the Federal Bureau of Prisons helped to carry out the execution of Timothy McVeigh for his role in the infamous 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The intense national and international media attention that the execution received was virtually unprecedented in the bureau's history, and it put the bureau in the difficult position of having to carry out two potentially conflicting responsibilities: facilitating coverage of the execution by hundreds of reporters, producers, and technicians, while maintaining the safety and security of the maximum security penitentiary in which the execution was held. Historically, the Bureau of Prisons has preferred to maintain a low media profile and had no experience managing a large-scale media event. This article examines how the bureau met this challenge by forming a partnership with the news media through the creation of a Media Advisory Group. It analyzes the goals, functions, and achievements of the Media Advisory Group by employing the Dawes model of interorganizational relationships. [source] Estimating the Causal Effects of Media Coverage on Policy-Specific KnowledgeAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2009Jason Barabas Policy facts are among the most relevant forms of knowledge in a democracy. Although the mass media seem like an obvious source of policy-specific information, past research in this area has been plagued by design and methodological problems that have hindered causal inferences. Moreover, few studies include measures of media content, preventing researchers from being able to say what it is about media coverage that influences learning. We advance the literature by employing a simple but underutilized approach for estimating the causal effects of news coverage. Drawing upon a unique collection of cross-sectional survey data, we make within-survey/within-subjects comparisons under conditions of high and low media coverage. We show how the volume, breadth, and prominence of news media coverage increase policy-specific knowledge above and beyond common demographic factors. [source] The Archive and the Artist: The Stefan Heym Archive RevisitedGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 1 2000K. E. Attar In December 1992 Cambridge University Library acquired the Stefan Heym Archive. This is a remarkably complete collection of literary manuscripts, interviews, letters, press clippings, audio and video tapes and miscellaneous material pertaining to a major literary and political figure in East German cultural history. The current article, using insights gained from cataloguing the archive, complements previous work demonstrating how the collection reflects the life of the originator and the historical events in which he participated. The article describes the various categories of manuscripts in the archive with an emphasis on what the collection reveals about Heym's work, his approach to it, and its reception. The literary manuscripts show the genesis of particular works, the timespan over which Heym's ideas develop, the method and care in their preparation, and Heym's greater interest in the creative process than in the end-product. Similar care is evident in the text of interviews. Media coverage, paper and taped material, shows the reception of Heym's work, includes Heym's comments on his own work, and demonstrates the growth of his status over the years. The archive's cultural value should not obscure its worth in shedding light on Heym as a writer. [source] Media coverage of ,decades of disparity' in ethnic mortality in AotearoaJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2004Darrin Hodgetts Abstract For some time we have known that factors such as economic prosperity, community cohesion, and social justice bear on health. These societal influences are particularly pertinent to the health of indigenous groups, such as Maori, who are still responding to processes of colonization. In July 2003 the New Zealand Ministry of Health published a report entitled ,Decades of Disparity', which proposed (among other things) that neoliberal policies of the last two decades impacted negatively on mortality rates for Maori and Pacific peoples, when compared with Pakeha. In this article we explore media coverage of this report through analyses of media releases, radio, television and newspaper items. It is argued that as the story evolved media increasingly challenged the importance of societal determinants of health, preferring individual level explanations. As a result coverage failed to give due emphasis to structural health concerns for Maori, which necessitate social change. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Foreigners Traveling to the U.S. for Transplantation May Adversely Affect Organ Donation: A National SurveyAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 6 2010M. L. Volk The aims of this study were (1) to determine attitudes among the American public regarding foreigners coming to the United States for the purposes of transplantation, and (2) to investigate the impact this practice might have on the public's willingness to donate organs. A probability-based national sample of adults age ,18 was asked whether people should be allowed to travel to the United States to receive a transplant, and whether this practice would discourage the respondents from becoming an organ donor. Among 1049 participants, 30% (95% CI 25,34%) felt that people should not be allowed to travel to the United States to receive a deceased donor transplant, whereas 28% felt this would be acceptable in some cases. Thirty-eight percent (95% CI 33,42%) indicated that this practice might prevent them from becoming an organ donor. In conclusion, deceased-donor transplantation of foreigners is opposed by many Americans. Media coverage of this practice has the potential to adversely affect organ donation. [source] Managing Uncertainty in Creative Industries: Lessons from Jerry Springer the OperaCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2006Anna M. Dempster This article considers the impact of uncertainty on entrepreneurial performance in the UK theatre industry. The article identifies and evaluates the major determinants of demand uncertainty ,audience composition, critical acclaim and media coverage, whose management is key to entrepreneurial success. An in-depth historical case study of the controversial production, Jerry Springer the Opera, analyses the evolution of these three distinct sources of uncertainty and illustrates that they should not be treated in isolation since they interact in complex ways which change with time. The case study shows how the entrepreneurs involved used a multi-staged production process as a strategy to market test their product and to distribute their risks across agents and over time. The article therefore considers what contributed to both the successes and failures of these entrepreneurs as well as highlighting important strategic lessons for managing uncertainty in creative industries. [source] Humanitarian Crises: What Determines the Level of Emergency Assistance?DISASTERS, Issue 2 2003Donor Interests, Media Coverage, the Aid Business This paper proposes a basic hypothesis that the volume of emergency assistance any humanitarian crisis attracts is determined by three main factors working either in conjunction or individually. First, it depends on the intensity of media coverage. Second, it depends on the degree of political interest, particularly related to security, that donor governments have in a particular region. Third, the volume of emergency aid depends on strength of humanitarian NGOs and international organisations present in a specific country experiencing a humanitarian emergency. The empirical analysis of a number of emergency situations is carried out based on material that has never been published before. The paper concludes that only occasionally do the media play a decisive role in influencing donors. Rather, the security interests of Western donors are important together with the presence and strength of humanitarian stakeholders, such as NGOs and international organisations lobbying donor governments. [source] The Gendered Machine: Concept Car Development at Volvo Car CorporationGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 6 2005Alexander Styhre This article examines the treatment in the media of the first concept car development project managed by female engineers and designers. The study is based on a critical discourse analysis methodology in which the production of social institutions and beliefs are conceived of as being based on written and spoken statements and utterances. The discursive production of statements not only has intangible effects but also implies material, consequences., The, study, shows, that, although, the, project, aimed at highlighting and using competencies among the female co-workers and to position Volvo as a progressive company, the media coverage in many cases draws on gendered stereotypes and commonsense beliefs. As a consequence, it demonstrates that stepping outside gendered forms of expression is a complicated matter and therefore a more elaborated vocabulary remains to be developed in both the media and industry. [source] Economic aspects and the Summer Olympics: a review of related researchINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 6 2003Evangelia Kasimati Abstract As the Summer Olympics are growing with larger media coverage and sponsorship, host cities have started to attach great importance to the tourism and other likely economic effects that occur by staging such a special event. As a result, a number of studies have been conducted to consider the various economic implications on the hosts. This paper examines and evaluates methods and assumptions used by the economic studies. It also compares ex-ante models and forecasts with the ex-post approach. The aim is to improve the information available to policy makers and potential future hosts of Summer Olympics and other mega-events. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Leading the Charge: Media, Elites, and the Use of Emotion in Stimulating Rally Effects in WartimeJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2010Sean Aday This study examines the relationship between media coverage, elite cues, and emotion in shaping public opinion about use of force. It utilizes data across three time periods: an experiment conducted in early 2005 during the Iraq War, National Election Studies data collected during the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, and NES data collected shortly after the U.S./coalition victory in the 1991 Gulf War. The study finds that contrary to conventional wisdom, media exert less influence on public opinion when they report negative or controversial news than when they reflect elite consensus and/or patriotic fervor. However, their importance is likely dependent upon the state of elite opinion, and thus media are best thought of as intervening variables between policymakers and the public. [source] Hostile Media Perceptions, Presumed Media Influence, and Minority Alienation: The Case of Arabs in IsraelJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 4 2007Yariv Tsfati This article examines the notion that minority perceptions of the strong influence of biased media coverage may indirectly lead to increased minority alienation. This idea was tested in the context of the perceived media stigmatization of Arab citizens in Israel. Using structural equation modeling (N= 251), it is demonstrated that, over and above the effects of ideological, social, and demographic variables, hostile media perceptions and the perceived influence of media coverage affected Arabs' perceived image and consequently their social alienation. Interestingly, the amount of exposure to mainstream Israeli media did not play a significant part in this process. However, exposure to Arab media significantly affected perceptions of hostile coverage. Résumé Perceptions des médias hostiles, influence présumée des médias et aliénation des minorités: Le cas des Arabes en Israël Cet article examine la notion selon laquelle les perceptions qu,ont des minorités de la forte influence d'une couverture médiatique biaisée puissent, indirectement, mener à une aliénation plus grande de ces minorités. Cette idée fut testée dans le contexte de la stigmatisation médiatique perçue par des citoyens arabes en Israël. Utilisant la modélisation par équation structurelle (N=251), il est démontré que, indépendamment de variables idéologiques, sociales et démographiques, les perceptions médiatiques hostiles et l,influence perçue de la couverture médiatique avaient une incidence sur l'image perçue des Arabes et, partant, sur leur aliénation sociale. Élément intéressant, le niveau d,exposition aux principaux médias israéliens n'a joué aucun rôle significatif dans ce processus. Toutefois, l,exposition aux médias arabes a eu un impact significatif sur les perceptions d'une couverture hostile. Abstract Feindselige Medienwahrnehmungen, ein unterstellter Einfluss der Medien und die Entfremdung von Minderheiten. Der Fall der Araber in Israel Der Beitrag untersucht die Annahme, dass die Wahrnehmung eines starken Einflusses einer verzerrten Medienberichterstattung bei einer Minderheit indirekt dazu führen kann, dass die Entfremdung dieser Minderheit zunimmt. Diese Annahme wurde im Kontext der wahrgenommenen Stigmatisierung von arabischen Bürgern in Israel untersucht. Mittels Strukturgleichungsmodellen (N=251) wird gezeigt, dass über den Einfluss von ideologischen, sozialen und soziodemographischen Variablen hinaus, die feindselige Medienwahrnehmung und der wahrgenommene Einfluss der Medienberichterstattung das Bild der Araber und folglich ihre soziale Entfremdung beeinflusst. Interessanterweise, spielte der Umfang der Nutzung der israelischen Hauptmedien keine signifikante Rolle in diesem Prozess. Allerdings beeinflusste die Nutzung arabischer Medien signifikant die Wahrnehmung einer feindseligen Berichterstattung. Resumen Las Percepciones Hostiles de los Medios, la Influencia Presunta de los Medios, y la Alienación de las Minorías: El Caso de los Árabes en Israel Este artículo examina la noción de que las percepciones de la minoría sobre la fuerte influencia de la cobertura tendenciosa de los medios pueden conducir indirectamente a un incremento de la alienación de la minoría. Ésta idea fue puesta a prueba en el contexto de la estigmatización percibida de los medios hacia los ciudadanos Árabes en Israel. Usando un Modelo de Ecuación Estructural (N=251), se demuestra que, por encima de los efectos de las variables ideológicas, sociales y demográficas, las percepciones hostiles de los medios y la influencia percibida de la cobertura de los medios afectó la imagen percibida de los Árabes, y consecuentemente su alineación social. Es interesante notar que la cantidad de exposición a la corriente dominante de los medios Israelíes no jugó un papel significativo en este proceso. No obstante, la exposición a los medios árabes afectó significativamente las percepciones de cobertura hostil. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source] Third-Person Effects and the Environment: Social Distance, Social Desirability, and Presumed BehaviorJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 2 2005Jakob D. Jensen Previous research has documented third-person effects (persons presuming that others will be more susceptible to media effects than they themselves are) and explored moderators such as social desirability (the effect reverses when the media effects are undesirable) and social distance (the effect increases as the social distance from the self increases). In a study of environmental news coverage, the authors observed the general third-person effect and the moderating role of social desirability; however, they also found that social distance affected presumed influence in complex ways reflecting varying perceptions of issue relevance for the comparison groups. A new variable, presumed behavior (the presumed effect of media coverage on others' behavior), was found to be independent of presumed influence and to offer improved prediction of perceivers' behavioral intentions. [source] ,Came hell and high water': the intersection of Hurricane Katrina, the news media, race and povertyJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2007Courte C. W. Voorhees Abstract The mass devastation and suffering left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in the US Gulf Coast brought the intersection of media and community into sharp focus. The news media played a pivotal role in almost every aspect of the disaster and its aftermath, and was harshly criticized for its depiction of minorities and for sensationalizing a human and environmental disaster. The literature suggests that media often represents minorities in a negative light, ultimately reinforcing existing social inequalities. This paper examines the portrayal of minority groups in the media during and after the storm. Data were coded from news media broadcasts to determine the nature of minority representation. Interviews were conducted with individuals from New Orleans who survived the disaster to understand issues related to media trust, the accuracy of media reports and perception of the media's portrayal of minorities. The results indicate that minorities are disproportionately shown in a passive or ,victim' role and are rarely shown in positions of expertize. Further, storm survivors indicated a misrepresentation of minorities in media coverage of the disaster, as well as reporting low levels of media trust and accuracy. The broader implications of these findings in relation to media reinforcement of social inequities and media responsibility are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Media coverage of ,decades of disparity' in ethnic mortality in AotearoaJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2004Darrin Hodgetts Abstract For some time we have known that factors such as economic prosperity, community cohesion, and social justice bear on health. These societal influences are particularly pertinent to the health of indigenous groups, such as Maori, who are still responding to processes of colonization. In July 2003 the New Zealand Ministry of Health published a report entitled ,Decades of Disparity', which proposed (among other things) that neoliberal policies of the last two decades impacted negatively on mortality rates for Maori and Pacific peoples, when compared with Pakeha. In this article we explore media coverage of this report through analyses of media releases, radio, television and newspaper items. It is argued that as the story evolved media increasingly challenged the importance of societal determinants of health, preferring individual level explanations. As a result coverage failed to give due emphasis to structural health concerns for Maori, which necessitate social change. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Analysis of recent incidents of on-field violence in sport: legal decisions and additional considerations from psychologyAGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 1 2009John H. Kerr Abstract This article focuses on two recent incidents of serious on-field violence in sports and the legal consequences for those involved. The two incidents occurred in Dutch football (soccer) and became infamous owing to the nature of the violent incidents and widespread media coverage. The legal outcomes of these two incidents are described, and some of the difficulties that legal authorities face in considering assaults on the sports field are discussed. A new way of categorizing such violent incidents and the motivation behind them, based on an established psychological theory [reversal theory, Apter, 1982, 2001] is proposed. Taken along with the other points made in this article, being aware of when and how individuals cross the boundaries between play and anger, power or thrill violence may provide an additional perspective to making informed decisions about illegal violent acts on the sports field. Aggr. Behav. 35:41,48. 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Politics of Hostage Rescue: Is Violence a Route to Political Success?JOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001Joseph Scanlon Over the years, law enforcement agencies have acquired extensive experience with hostage incidents, and most Western countries have officers trained in all aspects of hostage resolution. There are also articles and manuals outlining how to deal with the media coverage of hostage takings (Scanlon, 1989). However, because hostage rescue efforts can provide dramatic visuals that attract enormous audiences, the media have steadily intensified their coverage of such incidents. Today, a group of previously obscure persons can suddenly dominate the media agenda by successfully resisting an armed assault or by seizing hostages and calling themselves terrorists. After defining a hostage incident and looking at the strategy for dealing with such incidents, this article examines the implications of two fatal incidents: the stand-off involving religious fanatics at Waco, Texas; and the Air France hijacking that started in Algiers and ended in Marseille, France. Both became number one on the Western media agenda, and both became political crises involving the head of state; one threatening a president's credibility, the other enhancing a president's status. Together they suggest that the escalating media coverage of such incidents raises questions not only about the effectiveness of current response strategies, but also about political leadership. This article discusses a number of strategies that have been tried or suggested. It also debates whether involvement has a positive or negative effect on political leaders. It concludes that, from the evidence available, a successful hostage rescue can yield political rewards. [source] The Construction of Normal ExpectationsJOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2008Consumption Drivers for the Danish Bathroom Boom Summary The gradual upward changes of standards in normal everyday life have significant environmental implications, and it is therefore important to study how these changes come about. The intention of the article is to analyze the social construction of normal expectations through a case study. The case concerns the present boom in bathroom renovations in Denmark, which offers an excellent opportunity to study the interplay between a wide variety of consumption drivers and social changes pointing toward long-term changes of normal expectations regarding bathroom standards. The study is problem-oriented and transdisciplinary and draws on a wide range of sociological, anthropological, and economic theories. The empirical basis comprises a combination of statistics, a review of magazine and media coverage, visits to exhibitions, and qualitative interviews. A variety of consumption drivers are identified. Among the drivers are the increasing importance of the home as a core identity project and a symbol of the unity of the family, the opportunities for creative work, the convenience of more grooming capacity during the busy family's rush hours, the perceived need for retreat and indulgence in a hectic everyday life, and the increased focus on body care and fitness. The contours of the emerging normal expectations are outlined and discussed in an environmental perspective. [source] Newspaper coverage of a violent assault by a mentally ill personJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 6 2004C. STARK mbchb mph msc mrcpsych ffph The media is an important source of public information on mental ill-health. A man with a serious psychiatric illness attacked a minister with a knife at a Remembrance Sunday service in a remote, rural part of the Highlands, inflicting a severe facial wound. We aimed to identify lessons for the National Health Service (NHS) from the media coverage of the incident and of a subsequent court case and NHS Highland inquiry and in addition to explore how newspaper reporters approached reporting such incidents. We searched local and regional, national Scottish, and the Scottish editions of three UK newspapers for relevant coverage. We also conducted structured telephone interviews with eight reporters who had attended the inquiry press conference. Most of the media coverage was associated with the assault and the court case, rather than the inquiry results. Only three of 10 inquiry recommendations were mentioned in any reports. Coverage largely dealt with identified shortfalls, rather than proposed solutions. The NHS had made little comment in advance of the announcement of the inquiry results. Most of the newspaper coverage had already occurred. The NHS therefore limited its opportunity to influence newspaper coverage. The interpretation of the results is limited by the size of the study, but the coverage of such events forms part of the discourse on mental health in the media episodes and may have some affect on public perception of mental health issues. We conclude that, without providing confidential information, the NHS should take a more active stance in providing information on the nature and treatment of mental illness in such instances, even in advance of court cases. [source] Could Prolonged Air Travel Be Causally Associated with Subclavian Vein Thromboembolism?JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2002Theodore Teruya Background: Air travel associated with venous thromboembolism has recently achieved public awareness due to intense media coverage. The interest has focused on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower limbs with pulmonary embolism. The World Health Organization (WHO) is planning several international multicenter trials to study the problem and, if it exists, try to find a means for prevention. Methods: This is a case presentation of acute venous thromboembolism of the upper limbs associated with long-haul flights. Five patients were admitted to Straub Hospital in Honolulu after 5 to 10 hours' flight. Results: Patient 1 had a previous shoulder injury with DVT; patient 2 had chronic atrial fibrillation; patients 3 and 5 had clavicular fractures; and patient 4 had a subclavian vein compression. Conclusion: It is not possible to draw any conclusions about the association between air flights and subclavian vein thrombosis from this small retrospective case study. Our objective was to indicate the possibility of such a relationship. [source] Extending the Resource-based View to the Mega-event: Entrepreneurial Rents and InnovationMANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION REVIEW, Issue 2 2010Marc J. Dollinger abstract The resource-based view of the firm has previously been expanded by including relational rents and rent from network and alliance participation. This paper extends the Dyer-Singh-Lavie synthesis by considering the special circumstances arising from the relationships, alliances, and networks of a mega-event, using the Beijing Olympics as a case for our analyses. The mega-event that is organized as a cartel increases the pricing power of the participants, produces relational rent, and is an ideal venue to introduce innovations. We discuss six factors that can influence the rent creation and capture from a mega-event and offer related propositions: periodicity (Proposition 1), event location (Proposition 2), governance structure (Proposition 3), media coverage (Proposition 4), network connectivity (Proposition 5), and membership rules (Proposition 6). We identify four innovation types associated with such mega-events and contend that the same factors can affect the entrepreneurial rent creation and capture within these innovation types (Proposition 7). [source] Bilingual Education in Flanders: Policy and Press Debate (1999,2006)MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2010KATRIEN BOLLEN Although Belgium is officially trilingual (Dutch, French, and German), its legislation does not allow for bilingual education (BE). Recently, concerns about the position of Dutch in the face of French and immigrant languages have politicized the issue in the bilingual capital of Brussels and the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders. Considering Belgium's linguistic and educational policies, the authors analyze the media coverage of BE in Flanders by looking at the region's major newspapers for the pivotal period 1999,2006. Their content-analytical approach reveals a fairly positive bias toward BE. Yet, Flemish newspapers also reflect a tendency described by Brisk (2005): the tension between the promotion of BE for the majority (i.e., native speakers of Dutch and French) and its rejection for minorities (i.e., immigrants). Nevertheless, the fear of "frenchification" remains prominent in articles on majority-language BE. The study therefore sheds light on the complexities of the BE public debate in Flanders and on current political developments in the field. [source] The "I" in the gene: Divided property, fragmented personhood, and the making of a genetic privacy lawAMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 2 2007MARGARET EVERETT In this article, I explore the making and remaking of Oregon's Genetic Privacy Act, one of the first genetic privacy laws passed in the United States. New genetic technologies have provoked debates about medical privacy and property rights to the body and products derived from the body, and a majority of states have passed legislation regarding the use and disclosure of genetic information. Research in medical anthropology has increasingly focused on the politicized and fragmented body in modern science. As genetic privacy debates demonstrate, however, not only is the body increasingly subject to fragmentation but the property and privacy interests in bodies, body parts, and products derived from bodies are also increasingly subject to division. This article is based on my role as a member of two statewide advisory commissions from 1999 to 2005, the recordings and minutes of their meetings, legislation, testimony from legislative hearings, media coverage of the debate in Oregon, and letters to the editors of local newspapers. [source] Party Identification, Issue Attitudes, and the Dynamics of Political DebateAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2010Logan Dancey This article investigates whether media coverage of elite debate surrounding an issue moderates the relationship between individual-level partisan identities and issue preferences. We posit that when the news media cover debate among partisan elites on a given issue, citizens update their party identities and issue attitudes. We test this proposition for a quartet of prominent issues debated during the first Clinton term: health care reform, welfare reform, gay rights, and affirmative action. Drawing on data from the Vanderbilt Television News Archives and the 1992-93-94-96 NES panel, we demonstrate that when partisan debate on an important issue receives extensive media coverage, partisanship systematically affects,and is affected by,issue attitudes. When the issue is not being contested, dynamic updating between party ties and issue attitudes ceases. [source] What Determines Australia's Response to Emergencies and Natural Disasters?THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 1 2007Simon Feeny This article examines the determinants of Australia's response to emergencies and natural disasters. It examines the response from the Australian public by examining contributions made to the appeals of the country's largest Non-Governmental Organisation: World Vision of Australia. It also examines the response of the Australian Government. The data include 43 emergencies and natural disasters since 1998. Results suggest that the responses from both the public and government are positively associated with the number of people affected, media coverage, and the level of political and civil freedom in the country where the event occurred. The type and location of the emergency or disaster are important for the public's response. Differences between public and government donations exist: support from the Australian Government is positively associated with smaller countries and there is some evidence that the public donates more to events occurring in larger and poorer countries. [source] Estimating the Causal Effects of Media Coverage on Policy-Specific KnowledgeAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2009Jason Barabas Policy facts are among the most relevant forms of knowledge in a democracy. Although the mass media seem like an obvious source of policy-specific information, past research in this area has been plagued by design and methodological problems that have hindered causal inferences. Moreover, few studies include measures of media content, preventing researchers from being able to say what it is about media coverage that influences learning. We advance the literature by employing a simple but underutilized approach for estimating the causal effects of news coverage. Drawing upon a unique collection of cross-sectional survey data, we make within-survey/within-subjects comparisons under conditions of high and low media coverage. We show how the volume, breadth, and prominence of news media coverage increase policy-specific knowledge above and beyond common demographic factors. [source] Citizens, Knowledge, and the Information EnvironmentAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2006Jennifer Jerit In a democracy, knowledge is power. Research explaining the determinants of knowledge focuses on unchanging demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. This study combines data on the public's knowledge of nearly 50 political issues with media coverage of those topics. In a two-part analysis, we demonstrate how education, the strongest and most consistent predictor of political knowledge, has a more nuanced connection to learning than is commonly recognized. Sometimes education is positively related to knowledge. In other instances its effect is negligible. A substantial part of the variation in the education-knowledge relationship is due to the amount of information available in the mass media. This study is among the first to distinguish the short-term, aggregate-level influences on political knowledge from the largely static individual-level predictors and to empirically demonstrate the importance of the information environment. [source] The Political Environment and Ballot Proposition AwarenessAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2003Stephen P. Nicholson Studies that examine whether voters make informed decisions on direct legislation and whether direct legislation enhances civic engagement presume a basic awareness of ballot propositions, yet little is known about why some ballot propositions are more widely known than others. Despite the fact that research on awareness of ballot propositions and political awareness focus on individual factors, the political environment plays a vital role. This study seeks to advance our understanding of environmental factors in explaining awareness of ballot propositions. Using data on California ballot elections between the years 1956 and 2000, I find that the political environment has a substantial effect on voter awareness. Specifically, I find that the electoral cycle, media coverage, campaign spending, voter fatigue, the number of days before an election, and issues that concern morality, civil liberties, and civil rights contribute to ballot proposition awareness. [source] Crime, Media and Moral Panic in an Expanding European UnionTHE HOWARD JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Issue 1 2009ROB C. MAWBY Abstract: In the latest phase of European Union enlargement Bulgaria and Romania were admitted to EU membership on 1 January 2007. In the UK, media coverage of the accession process focused on the potential movement of large numbers of people from Eastern to Western European states; a particular focus was the crime risk associated with enlargement. This article examines how newspapers reported the perceived crime threats and assesses the extent to which the concerns can be understood as a moral panic. The article confirms the contemporary utility of moral panic analysis, albeit with some flexibility to reflect the modern media landscape. [source] The Corporate Governance Role of the Media: Evidence from RussiaTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCE, Issue 3 2008ALEXANDER DYCK ABSTRACT We study the effect of media coverage on corporate governance by focusing on Russia in the period 1999 to 2002. We find that an investment fund's lobbying increases coverage of corporate governance violations in the Anglo-American press. We also find that coverage in the Anglo-American press increases the probability that a corporate governance violation is reversed. This effect is present even when we instrument coverage with an exogenous determinant, the fund's portfolio composition at the beginning of the period. The fund's strategy seems to work in part by impacting Russian companies' reputation abroad and in part by forcing regulators into action. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||