The Dynamics of Political Communication Chapter 3 The Study of political communication © 2018 Taylor & Francis

Early political communication scholarship: Walter Lippmann Rejected liberal democracy concepts such as the power of rational thought and ability of the press to provide accurate information Concluded people were prone to psychologically distort information and engage in stereotyping Recognized that media played a large role in shaping public opinion Walter Lippmann © 2018 Taylor & Francis

ABC’s of Propaganda Testimonial – the ability of a communication to call on the views of a credible spokesperson Bandwagon – the persuasive influence exerted by the perception that large numbers of people supported a cause Transfer – the powerful impact that a message could exert if it was associated with a popular image or symbol What are some examples of testimonial, bandwagon, and transfer effects that we see during election campaigns? © 2018 Taylor & Francis

But how strong are media effects really? Opinion Leaders Voting Public Lazarsfeld, Berelson, and Gaudet (1944) found that media had only modest influences, such as clarifying attitudes and strengthening vote intentions Two-step flow: media influence is mediated by influential opinion leaders Mass media are less important than interpersonal influence © 2018 Taylor & Francis

The Limited Effects Model Political attitudes and behaviors Preexisting attitudes Media influence Social environmental factors Joseph Klapper (1960) concluded that media influences on society were small to modest. People acquire strong preexisting attitudes before coming to media Media works together with social environmental factors Media only contributes to or reinforces the effects of these other agents © 2018 Taylor & Francis

A New Perspective… Advent of television news changed everything Strong televised images of the 1960s clashed with the limited media effects thesis What was happening in the 1960s that would make television news a big deal? © 2018 Taylor & Francis

Data leads to new questions … Nearly half of Republicans with exposure to predominantly Democratic media actually voted for the Democrat, President Franklin D. Roosevelt Voters who had exposure to primarily Republican newspapers and radio stations were more likely to vote for the Republican candidate than those who had primarily Democratic media exposure Lazarsfeld focused only on voting behavior, not other factors like discussion, voters’ cognitions, or macro level factors Research began to show that media could set the agenda or influence people’s perceptions of problems Uses and gratifications research emphasized that audiences actively use media for specific gratifications like knowledge or voting guidance Many new models began to suggest more subtle, indirect effects of media When you consume news, what are you trying to do or get? © 2018 Taylor & Francis

Six Emerging Themes Media shapes our images of the world Social networks matter Early research was right about some things and wrong about others Multiple political communication perspectives can be simultaneously true Concerns about powerful media effects are pervasive in American political communication Current political communication scholarship is full of continued debate and dialogue © 2018 Taylor & Francis

Where we are now The dominant model used to emphasize that political media had top-down influences The mass mediated model has been supplemented with a “networked public sphere” (Friedland, Hove, & Rojas, 2006) Mainstream media exist online alongside competing platforms and a multitude of online posts Citizens no longer exclusively receive mediated political messages, but now also initiate mediated political conversations with friends, journalists, and leaders Frequently, citizens seek confirmation of what they already think How many of you share political messages on social media? © 2018 Taylor & Francis

Social Science and Political Communication A theory is a large, sweeping conceptualization that offers a wide- ranging explanation of a phenomenon and generates concrete hypotheses about when and why specific events will occur A hypothesis is a specific proposition that can be tested through evidence Political communication research starts with a theory and hypothesis © 2018 Taylor & Francis

Social Science Research Methods Content analysis systematically and quantitatively examines the characteristics, themes and symbols of a message An experiment is a controlled study that provides evidence of causation through random assignment of individuals to a treatment or control group A survey is a questionnaire or interview-based study that documents a correlation or relationship between two or more variables in a real-world setting, identifying factors that can best predict a particular outcome Political communication researchers use many variations on and techniques for each of these methods © 2018 Taylor & Francis

Conclusions The history of political communication scholarship is full of twist and turns, but also some continuities Political media influence our picture of the world and helps construct political beliefs Theory, hypotheses, and social science research methods guide political communication inquiries Researchers have documented a number of effects: Agenda-setting Framing Persuasion from cognitive processing And many more … © 2018 Taylor & Francis