Late-Night Comedy as a Gateway to Traditional News: An Analysis of Time Trends in News Attention Among Late-Night Comedy Viewers During the 2004 Presidential Primaries

Feldman, Lauren; Young, Dannagal G.

doi:10.1080/10584600802427013

Cited by 95 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Holbert (2005) suggested that political entertainment can be divided into two dimensions: whether the audience can expect the content to be primarily political (as in a political drama) or politics is secondary (as in reality TV), and the explicit (e.g., interview shows) or implicit (e.g., a sitcom) nature of the messages. It is in the ''implied'' and ''political as primary'' category where traditional satire, such as The Daily Show can be found (Holbert, 2005; see also Feldman & Young, 2008).…”

Section: Content Differences In Traditional News and Political Entertmentioning

confidence: 98%

Satire, Punch Lines, and the Nightly News: Untangling Media Effects on Political Participation

Hoffman

Young

2011

Communication Research Reports

119

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Research often collapses programming like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Late Show, and The Tonight Show into one category of programming. However, recent research suggests that both the content and effects of viewing these programs differ. This study separates satire or parody and traditional late-night comedy to examine effects of viewing on political participation. Results suggest that viewing satire or parody has positive and significant effects on political participation through the mediator of political efficacy, as does viewing traditional TV news. However, this relationship is not borne out for viewers of traditional late-night comedy. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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Section: Content Differences In Traditional News and Political Entertmentioning

confidence: 98%

Satire, Punch Lines, and the Nightly News: Untangling Media Effects on Political Participation

Hoffman

Young

2011

Communication Research Reports

119

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“…This phenomenon may be a cause either for hope or concern-on the one hand, such political information embedded in entertainment could serve as a gateway and trigger greater interest in political topics and discourse among otherwise disengaged or alienated segments of the electorate (e.g., Bartsch & Schneider, 2014;Feldman & Young, 2008;Xenos & Becker, 2009). On the other hand, it may contribute to trivialization of political topics as a matter of amusement or peripheral importance, or possibly increase alienation and cynicism (Balmas, 2012;Baumgartner & Morris, 2006;Guggenheim, Kwak, & Campbell, 2011).…”

Section: Political Entertainmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selecting Serious or Satirical, Supporting or Stirring News? Selective Exposure to Partisan versus Mockery News Online Videos

Knobloch‐Westerwick

Lavis

2017

J Commun

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The present investigation combines cognitive dissonance theory with entertainment-education frameworks to study selection and effects of news. Selective exposure to satirical and partisan news was examined with online clips to test hypotheses on overcoming resistance to persuasive messages. An experiment (n = 146) presented news choices, varied in stance (conservative vs. liberal) and format (serious partisan news vs. satirical news). Results show political interest fosters selection of serious partisan news. Clips with partisan alignment were more frequently selected; only for the satirical news clips, Democrats did not exhibit such confirmation bias. Selecting satirical news affected internal political efficacy, and selecting online news clips induced attitude reinforcement according to message stance.Keywords: Satire News, Selective Exposure, Political Entertainment, Confirmation Bias, Political Efficacy, Entertainment-Education. doi:10.1111/jcom.12271 Numerous current media embed political messages in entertainment formats (see Holbert, 2005, for an overview). Ranging from soft news to fictional drama about politics, from satirical news to political references in late-night comedy, a wide variety of shows and messages convey political information and views while seemingly appealing first and foremost to entertainment needs along the lines of amusement and emotional involvement. Scholars have expressed hopes that embedding political information into entertaining formats can help to involve otherwise unengaged citizens more in the political process (e.g., Moy, Xenos, & Hess, 2005). At the same time, political polarization among citizens causes concerns and is said to partially result from selective exposure to mediated messages on political matters, which is fostered by the Internet (Bennett & Iyengar, 2008). Political messages embedded in entertainment may permeate such confirmation bias, which is widely demonstrated for traditional political messages.Corresponding author: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick; e-mail: knobloch-westerwick.1@osu.edu Selecting Serious or Satirical NewsThis study tackles this proposition, based on a theoretical lens that merges cognitive dissonance theory with the entertainment-education framework. In the following, we review the scholarly discussion of political entertainment, before introducing both entertainment-education and cognitive dissonance theory. Hypotheses derived from these perspectives will be examined in an investigation on selective exposure to serious partisan news and satirical news, presented through an online video site featuring clips on three different political issues. It is the first study to observe media users' selections of serious and satirical news when accessible simultaneously; thus it reflects real-life media choice environments-with plenty of TV and online channels-in which entertainment and informative messages compete for attention (Prior, 2007). Additionally, it is also the first study to examine confirmation bias with online videos. Political ente...

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“…Based on their findings, the researchers concluded that The Daily Show viewers are not disengaged from politics; if anything, they are more engaged than others, particularly those who frequently watch the show and engage in more political discussion as a result of the show. The depth of political content on parody news shows leads to increased use of traditional media (Feldman & Young, 2008) as well as increased political knowledge and understanding, which sparks the desire for civic engagement (Hoffman & Thomson, 2009). Thus, parody news shows attract both Dissidents and Assureds.…”

Section: Parody News Showsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Putting out Fire with Gasoline: Testing the Gamson Hypothesis on Media Reliance and Political Activity

Johnson

Kaye

2013

Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media

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Late-Night Comedy as a Gateway to Traditional News: An Analysis of Time Trends in News Attention Among Late-Night Comedy Viewers During the 2004 Presidential Primaries

Cited by 95 publications

References 18 publications

Satire, Punch Lines, and the Nightly News: Untangling Media Effects on Political Participation

Satire, Punch Lines, and the Nightly News: Untangling Media Effects on Political Participation

Selecting Serious or Satirical, Supporting or Stirring News? Selective Exposure to Partisan versus Mockery News Online Videos

Putting out Fire with Gasoline: Testing the Gamson Hypothesis on Media Reliance and Political Activity

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