Reconsidering 'virtuous circle' and 'media malaise' theories of the media: An 11-nation study

James Curran; Sharon Coen; Stuart Soroka; Toril Aalberg; Kaori Hayashi; Zira Hichy; Shanto Iyengar; Paul Jones; Gianpietro Mazzoleni; Stylianos Papathanassopoulos; June Woong Rhee; Hernando Rojas; David Rowe; Rod Tiffen

doi:10.1177/1464884913520198

Reconsidering 'virtuous circle' and 'media malaise' theories of the media: An 11-nation study

James Curran^*, Sharon Coen, Stuart Soroka, Toril Aalberg, Kaori Hayashi, Zira Hichy, Shanto Iyengar, Paul Jones, Gianpietro Mazzoleni, Stylianos Papathanassopoulos, June Woong Rhee, Hernando Rojas, David Rowe, Rod Tiffen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

58 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study, based on a content analysis of television news and survey in eleven nations, explores the split between those who see the media as politically alienating and others who see the media as encouraging greater political involvement. Here, we suggest that both positions are partly right. On the one hand, television news, and in particular public service television news, can be very effective in imparting information about public affairs and promoting a culture of democracy in which news exposure, public affairs knowledge, sense of democratic competence and political interest feed off each other. On the other hand, the views represented in public affairs news are overwhelmingly those of men and elites, which can discourage identification with public life.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	815-833
Number of pages	19
Journal	Journalism
Volume	15
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884913520198
Publication status	Published - Oct 2013
Externally published	Yes

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title = "Reconsidering 'virtuous circle' and 'media malaise' theories of the media: An 11-nation study",

abstract = "This study, based on a content analysis of television news and survey in eleven nations, explores the split between those who see the media as politically alienating and others who see the media as encouraging greater political involvement. Here, we suggest that both positions are partly right. On the one hand, television news, and in particular public service television news, can be very effective in imparting information about public affairs and promoting a culture of democracy in which news exposure, public affairs knowledge, sense of democratic competence and political interest feed off each other. On the other hand, the views represented in public affairs news are overwhelmingly those of men and elites, which can discourage identification with public life.",

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AU - Curran, James

AU - Coen, Sharon

AU - Soroka, Stuart

AU - Aalberg, Toril

AU - Hayashi, Kaori

AU - Hichy, Zira

AU - Iyengar, Shanto

AU - Jones, Paul

AU - Mazzoleni, Gianpietro

AU - Papathanassopoulos, Stylianos

AU - Rhee, June Woong

AU - Rojas, Hernando

AU - Rowe, David

AU - Tiffen, Rod

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Reconsidering 'virtuous circle' and 'media malaise' theories of the media: An 11-nation study

Abstract

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