Given scholars' concerns with media influences on civic life, it is not surprising that researchers have begun to focus on how the Internet may enhance or erode levels of civic engagement. Collectively, however, these studies are rife with inconsistencies in the explication and operationalization of the predictor variable, Internet use. This study investigates the role of Internet use in shaping civic engagement, looking specifically at multiple conceptualizations and measurements. Results from a community study (N = 301) indicate nuanced relationships between dimensions of Internet use and forms of civic engagement. These relationships are discussed in light of citizens' use of more traditional media.
Research on the lack of civic and political engagement on the part of today's youth has relied on traditional, often quantitative, measures of political knowledge that may miss important elements of the process. Using an ethnographic approach with a group of inner-city high school students, our study reveals a richer construction of students' awareness of political issues, or political socialization than previously documented by conventional survey measures. Notably present is a sophisticated awareness of and identification with non-news television formats which suggests that sources such as TV talk and reality shows may be important sources of political discourse and even civic engagement. Our study also supports the value of hands-on media production projects for understanding youth political knowledge and awareness, suggesting an additional tool for political communication and civic engagement research.
It is a truism in communication research to contend that media portrayals of events can influence public opinion. For decades, public opinion researchers have turned to agenda setting, 1 cultivation, 2 and the spiral of silence 3 to explain how individuals' perceptions of the world can be influenced by media content. However, the magnitude of influence is contingent on a number of conditions, for example, whether the issue is one with which the audience member has direct experience. 4 Recent years have seen a sharp rise in studies of framing, a meta-concept that spans the entire process of message-making, from the construction of a given message to its effects on audience members. 5 Inevitably, individual framing studies rarely can address all these aspects of the framing process. Efforts examining how the media portray various issues and events 6 then tend to assume effects, with empirical studies of framing involving the identification of key aspects of media coverage. 7 The current study focuses on a specific aspect of framing-sourcing-and how journalists' reliance on official sources, often referenced as indexing, 8 manifested itself in coverage of the events at Abu Ghraib in 2004. The allegations of torture at Abu Ghraib already have motivated scholars to study press independence from government frames. Some have shown the press essentially parroting the government's account of events, 9 while others have provided contradictory evidence. 10 Bennett, Lawrence, and Livingston argued that the events at Abu Ghraib created a "'natural experiment' for testing the limits of press independence," 11Drawing on the literature related to indexing and sourcing, this study analyzes portrayals and sourcing patterns of New York Times coverage of Abu Ghraib and invocations of the events during Alberto Gonzales' nomination as U.S. Attorney General. Content analysis of all 760 articles published revealed that journalists overwhelmingly consulted official, though not necessarily partisan, sources during the pre-nomination, nomination, and hearing phases leading up to Gonzales' confirmation. Despite introducing the idea of "scandal" into coverage of Abu Ghraib, which suggests press independence, journalists consulted routine sources and increasingly relied on congressional sources over time.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.