Steven Chaffee and the Future of Political Communication Research

McLeod, Jack M.

doi:10.1080/105846001750322989

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…More generally, this study acknowledges that entertainment television may play an important role in shaping opinion about various topics of public interest. McLeod (2001), Mutz (2001), and Shah (1998) have called for an expansion of the study of nonpublic affairs media within the field of political communication. These scholars contend that political discourse is not only found in nightly news programs, morning newspapers, and political advertising, but in a wide range of entertainment media outlets.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Implications of Prime-Time Drama and Sitcom Use: Genres of Representation and Opinions Concerning Women's Rights

Holbert

Shah

Kwak

2003

Journal of Communication

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Scholars studying the content of televised entertainment programming have long argued for a relationship between exposure to sexist media representations of women and opinions concerning women's status in society, yet research has rarely examined prime-time television audiences and their sociopolitical opinions concerning women's rights. To explore these relationships, we engaged in a secondary analysis of the 1997, 1998 Using hierarchical regression, we found three forms of entertainment television use (traditional drama, progressive drama, and situation comedy) that retain statistically significant, unique relationships with opinions concerning women's rights, even after accounting for variables thought to shape patterns of media use and influence support for women's rights. Further, regression path analysis revealed that these three forms also mediate relationships between various demographic, situational, and orientational variables and the criterion variable.Prime-time television fare has long been thought to construct and contest sex roles and provide a forum where issues of gender equity and reproductive rights are discussed (Dow, 1996;Tuchman, 1978). Prime-time programs touch on a range of topics concerning women: professional roles, domestic responsibilities, and sexual mores. Indeed, media cultivation studies have observed sexist portrayals of women across a range of television genres and used this to support their assertion that general television consumption adversely affects opinion about gender equal-

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Implications of Prime-Time Drama and Sitcom Use: Genres of Representation and Opinions Concerning Women's Rights

Holbert

Shah

Kwak

2003

Journal of Communication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Implications of Prime-Time Drama and Sitcom Use: Genres of Representation and Opinions Concerning Women's Rights

Holbert

2003

Journal of Communication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scholars studying the content of televised entertainment programming have long argued for a relationship between exposure to sexist media representations of women and opinions concerning women's status in society, yet research has rarely examined prime-time television audiences and their sociopolitical opinions concerning women's rights. To explore these relationships, we engaged in a secondary analysis of the 1997, 1998, and 1999 DDB Life Style Studies. Using hierarchical regression, we found three forms of entertainment television use (traditional drama, progressive drama, and situation comedy) that retain statistically significant, unique relationships with opinions concerning women's rights, even after accounting for variables thought to shape patterns of media use and influence support for women's rights. Further, regression path analysis revealed that these three forms also mediate relationships between various demographic, situational, and orientational variables and the criterion variable. Prime-time television fare has long been thought to construct and contest sex roles and provide a forum where issues of gender equity and reproductive rights are discussed (Dow, 1996; Tuchman, 1978). Prime-time programs touch on a range of topics concerning women: professional roles, domestic responsibilities, and sexual mores. Indeed, media cultivation studies have observed sexist portrayals of women across a range of television genres and used this to support their assertion that general television consumption adversely affects opinion about gender equality (e.g.,

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“…By acquiring discursive habits in the homesuch as reciprocity, tolerance for diverse views, turn taking in conversations, and daily discussion about the newsparents and children prepare themselves for participation in civil society. The family's role in boosting civic efficacy deserves more attention from scholars in light of the increasing interest in studying involvement outside the contexts of voting and partisan politics (McLeod, 2001;Putnam, 2000).…”

Section: Step 5: Civic Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Family in a Sequence of Political Activation: Why Civic Interventions Can Succeed

McDevitt

Chaffee

2002

Journalism & Communication Monographs

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We invite theorists and architects of interventions to consider the stimulation of family political communication as a powerful strategy for the mobilization of civic involvement. Family-based interaction constitutes a valuable resource for activation efforts, but to appreciate this potential requires a conceptualization of political involvement as a micro-social process. The family constitutes a social system that tends to maintain homeostatic balance in various domains of social interaction, including civic competence. An intervention such as a school curriculum or a media campaign can heighten the political interest of the family member initially reached by the intervention, which creates tension if other family members perceive a need to increase their own civic competence. Strides toward citizenship occur when the family system adjusts to re-establish equilibrium in response to exogenous influences that create tension. This framework situates the family as a mediating institution in relationship to societal agents that periodically heighten the flow of political information. The family is responsive to increased political stimulation and generative of motivation that leads to voting and other forms of participation outside the home. Our functional model of family political communication contrasts with a tendency toward reductionist thinking in which campaign effects are evaluated in isolation to each other, and in the absence of social context. We conclude with an intervention strategy that incorporates family interaction to amplify the impact of political stimulation originating from media, schools, and elections.

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Steven Chaffee and the Future of Political Communication Research

Cited by 12 publications

References 24 publications

Political Implications of Prime-Time Drama and Sitcom Use: Genres of Representation and Opinions Concerning Women's Rights

Political Implications of Prime-Time Drama and Sitcom Use: Genres of Representation and Opinions Concerning Women's Rights

Political Implications of Prime-Time Drama and Sitcom Use: Genres of Representation and Opinions Concerning Women's Rights

The Family in a Sequence of Political Activation: Why Civic Interventions Can Succeed

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