Journalism & politics J201 Introduction to Mass Communication Nov 2 -2016
Professor Hernando Rojas [email protected] @uatiff 201.journalism.wisc.edu #sjmc201
Journalism & Politics- today’s class plan
2!
① Is news coverage in the US biased in favor of one political party?
② Is news coverage making people more extreme in their political views?
③ Is news coverage making people more cynical and detached from the political system?
Politics & Journalism – 2 Polarization
① Because news tends to highlight conflict.
② Cover politics like a “horse race.” What matters is who is ahead and not issues.
③ New media may create ideological cocoons.
Is the U S becoming more politically
polarized?
Political Polarization – class poll
“Emerging” media and polarization
5!
§ Deliberative potential of the Internet versus echo chambers (Sunstein)
§ Extreme views become more extreme § Groups drift far away from each other
Adamic & Glance, 2004 !Smith, 2010 !
Political Polarization
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§ What is polarization? § Increased issue extremity § Political alignment § Affective phenomena
Political Polarization – Issue extremity
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Political Polarization – Issue extremity
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Political Polarization – Political Alignment
10!
Political Polarization – Political Alignment
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Political Polarization – Political Alignment
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Political Polarization – Political Alignment
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Political Polarization – Affective polarization
Political Polarization
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§ To sum up: § Increased issue extremity § Political alignment § Affective phenomena
Surveys in 10 countries (2010)
15!
Perceived political polarization
§ Perceived polarization as perceived distance between political parties.
Perceived political polarization
Party A ! Party B! Party C!
16!
Encourage development of
renewable energy sources !
Encourage off-shore drilling for
oil and gas !
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!NEWSPAPERS!
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TV NEWS!
RADIO NEWS!
INTERNET!
CANADA COLOMBIA GREECE INDIA ITALY JAPAN NORWAY S KOREA UK USA!
Perceived political polarization
Role of news
18!
§ To sum up: § Unrelated to political extremity § Increases perceived polarization
Politics & Journalism – 3 Media malaise hypothesis
Because of negativity in coverage does news foster political cynicism and make people less engaged?
Role of news
20!
§ News consumption: § Increases political knowledge. § Increases political efficacy. § Increases political participation.
Questions
See you Friday…