The International Journal of Press/Politics current issue

Editorial

Waisbord, S. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:33:53 PDT

Videomalaise or Virtuous Circle?: The Influence of the News Media on Political Trust

Avery, J. M. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:33:53 PDT

Some scholars argue that exposure to news media has a negative effect on public trust in government, while others maintain that the relationship between media exposure and political trust is positive and reciprocal. The current study departs from most research in this area by focusing on how both news source and individual characteristics of news consumers moderate the influence of news exposure on political trust. Employing several panel studies from a survey specifically designed to investigate media use and campaign dynamics during the 2000 presidential election, the current study makes several novel contributions to the literature. Specifically, the author finds that the influence of news media on political trust—positive or negative—is dependent on both the news source (i.e., newspaper or television) and individuals’ existing level of political trust. Those with low levels of political trust do not become more or less trusting following news exposure regardless of the news source. However, those with higher levels of political trust become more trusting following exposure to newspapers and less trusting following exposure to television news.

Black and White and Shades of Gray: Palestinians in the Israeli Media During the 2nd Intifada

Liebes, T., Kampf, Z. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:33:53 PDT

An examination of the Israeli media coverage of Palestinians during the 2nd Intifada demonstrates a new openness, not compatible with the "crisis routine" of rallying around the flag. Fifteen years earlier, in the 1st Intifada, Palestinians were altogether excluded from the screen. This time round, in spite of the higher level of violence, the Israeli public was exposed to their human side—as political leaders, victims, witnesses, and even terrorists. The authors’ analysis of news photos and television representations (2000—2005) reveals that during the 2nd Intifada coverage was expanded to include a broad range of Palestinian figures. Alongside traditional framing, Palestinians are also seen as ordinary people living under occupation, often as direct victims of the Israeli military. Analysis of the relationship among these images (including their textual framing), with their implied readers and with "real" readers with ideological preconceptions, leads to arguing that the emotional appeal of the varied representation calls into question the understanding of the conflict as a fixated black-and-white dichotomy. The authors suggest reasons for this new media openness. In conclusion, the authors point to the ways in which their model can facilitate an understanding of images of the "other" side in armed conflicts.

Local Media, Public Opinion, and State Legislative Policies: Agenda Setting at the State Level

Tan, Y., Weaver, D. H. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:33:53 PDT

This study aims to explore first-level agenda setting at the state level. In particular, it examines the relationships among media coverage of local newspapers, state-level public opinion, and state legislative policies. In addition, it tests two state-level intervening factors: state legislative professionalism and state political culture. This study includes a geographic scope of eighteen U.S. states and a time period of twenty-two years from 1984 to 2006. The media agenda is represented by the news coverage of a state’s most popular newspaper. The public agenda employs a survey question asking, "What is the most important issue facing the state?" The policy agenda is defined by the number of bills that are introduced in the state house. This study finds a moderate and positive relationship between the newspaper agenda and the public agenda in five U.S. states from 1984 to 1997, a strong positive relationship between the newspaper agenda and the policy agenda in fifteen U.S. states from 1989 to 2006, and a weak positive relationship between the public agenda and the policy agenda in South Carolina in 1989 and 1990. State political culture moderates the degree of agenda-setting effects between the newspaper coverage and the legislative policies.

Separate Spaces: Discourse About the 2007 Scottish Elections on a National Newspaper Web Site

Singer, J. B. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:33:53 PDT

In May 2007, Scots voted into office a party and a political leader publicly committed to holding a referendum on independence from Great Britain within four years. This study analyzes nearly forty-eight hundred comments appended to stories on the scotsman.com Web site, offering one of the first detailed looks at user-generated content on a newspaper-affiliated Web site in the context of a national election. It explores the evolving nature of online political community and the ways in which newspapers are accommodating a networked environment in their political coverage, addressing issues of citizen and journalistic engagement within a communal space.

Transatlantic Foreign Reporting and Foreign Correspondents After 9/11: Trends in Reporting Europe in the United States

Hahn, O., Lonnendonker, J. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:33:53 PDT

Since the attacks of 9/11, U.S. media coverage of foreign news has changed significantly. As part of a wider study, this research identifies trends in reporting Europe in the United States after 9/11. Following a summary of the current state of research, the study’s methodological design is discussed. It is based on a sample of 27 qualitative semistructured in-depth interviews with foreign correspondents working for different U.S. media outlets in Europe. The interviewed correspondents describe that since 9/11, U.S. public interest in 9/11-related foreign affairs has increased while general U.S. foreign news coverage has decreased further. With the geographic news focus shifted toward the Middle East, Europe-based U.S. foreign correspondents increasingly report about Muslim communities in Europe. The article also discusses perspectives pertaining to the future development of transatlantic foreign reporting and foreign correspondents in the post-9/11 era.

Book Notes

Venturelli, S., Klotz, R., Van Belle, D. A., Siochru, S. O, Benson, R. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:33:53 PDT