Processing Politics

Processing Politics Learning from Television in the Internet Age

by Doris A. Graber

University of Chicago Press, 2001
Cloth: 978-0-226-30575-2 | Paper: 978-0-226-30576-9 | Electronic: 978-0-226-92476-2
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226924762.001.0001

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ABOUT THIS BOOKAUTHOR BIOGRAPHYTABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOK

How often do we hear that Americans are so ignorant about politics that their civic competence is impaired, and that the media are to blame because they do a dismal job of informing the public? Processing Politics shows that average Americans are far smarter than the critics believe. Integrating a broad range of current research on how people learn (from political science, social psychology, communication, physiology, and artificial intelligence), Doris Graber shows that televised presentations—at their best—actually excel at transmitting information and facilitating learning. She critiques current political offerings in terms of their compatibility with our learning capacities and interests, and she considers the obstacles, both economic and political, that affect the content we receive on the air, on cable, or on the Internet.

More and more people rely on information from television and the Internet to make important decisions. Processing Politics offers a sound, well-researched defense of these remarkably versatile media, and challenges us to make them work for us in our democracy.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Doris A. Graber, professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is the recipient of the American Political Science Association Goodnow Distinguished Service Award. She is author or editor of thirteen books, most recently Media Power in Politics and Information Management in the Public Sphere.

Tables

Boxes

Preface

1. Political Television: Puzzles and Problems

1.1 Primary News Sources for Various Demographic Groups

1.2 Adequacy of Media Coverage

2. Political Learning: How Our Brains Process Complex Information

2.1 Large (15-point) Differences in Knowledge of Politics

2.2 Orchestration of a Campaign Advertisement

3. To Know or Not to Know: Questions about Civic Wisdom

Economic Problems as Seen by Black Voters

3.1 Complexity of Issue Discussions: Ratio of Simple to Complex Statements

3.2 Complexity Levels by Focus Groups

3.3 Complexity Levels by Issue Areas

4. Freeing Audiovisual Technologies from the Gutenberg Legacy

4.1 Sample Visual Cues for Common Themes

4.2 Visual Information in Foreign Affairs News

4.3 Picture Contributions to Verbal Themes in Routine Nonfeature News Stories

4.4 Real and Imagined Picture Contribution

5. The Battles over Audiovisual Content

5.1 Satisfaction with Television Programming, 1998 (1994)

5.2 Politically Informative Segments on Typical Nightly National Newscasts, 1997–98

5.3 Hours of Politically Relevant Programming on Weekdays and Weekends

6. Making News Selection, Framing, and Formatting More User-Friendly

6.1 High Public Attentiveness to Major News Stories, 1986–2000

6.2 Low Public Attentiveness to Major News Stories, 1986–2000

6.3 Selective versus Routine News Attention, 1998

6.4 Close Attention to Various News Topics, 2000

6.5 Profile of 10:00 P.M. Network Newscasts in Chicago, 1997

6.6 Nonadvertising Time Distribution in Chicago, 1997

Language Complexity in Broadcast News

6.7 Journalists’ Frames versus Audiences’ Frames for Five Stories

6.8 News Element Coverage in Broadcast Stories

6.9 News Content Attractions in Television, Newspapers, and Magazines

6.10 Typical News Sequencing and Breaks

7. Peering into the Crystal Ball: What Does the Future Hold?

7.1 Interest in Technological Innovations by Generation

7.2 News Interests by Generation

7.3 Changing News Story Emphasis

7.4 Emphasis of Prime-Time News Magazine Stories

Appendix: Methods

An Example of Gestalt Coding

A.1 Code Summation Sheet

References

Index