Search

While it is often assumed that media attention for events, such as international climate change conferences, can influence public opinion, research studying changes in public opinion concerning climate change is scarce. Research on climate change audience segments and the theory of motivated reasoning suggest that media effects depend on the level of audience engagement with climate change. We analyze how exposure to media coverage of the COP21 affected public opinion in the Netherlands. Based on a two-wave online panel survey (N = 876), we identified five audience segments that varied in their degree of climate change beliefs, involvement, policy preferences, and behavioral intentions. Different media effects across segments were found indicating (dis)confirmation bias, specifically, for medium levels of positive and negative engagement. The findings indicate that important events may cause limited changes in public opinion and emphasize the importance of studying segment-specific and content-specific media effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the role of emotions in the (bandwagon) effect of opinion polls on vote choice. It combines a media content analysis of poll reporting (N = 2,772) on an individual basis with a two wave panel survey (N = 1,064) during the 2013 German Bundestag election campaign. Results show that anxiety and enthusiasm mediate the effect of poll exposure on vote choice. Furthermore, the effect of polls on vote choice is found to be a consequence of how these polls are presented in the media. Polls are more than neutral interim campaign statistics, as they influence vote choice, and do so partly because of the emotions they evoke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has established that rival issue frames that target competing values can lead public opinion in different directions. This article examines rival frames that target the same values but for competing political ends. We report on an experiment (N = 503) that examines the framing of a controversy over extreme anti-immigrant speech. Both supporters and opponents of the speech framed their positions around free expression and democracy. Such framing influenced judgments about how these values were upheld by permitting versus banning hate speech. These judgments, in turn, affected tolerance for such speech. We conclude that the impact of values on political attitudes depends not just on the framing of the issue but also on the framing of the values themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This multimethodological study focuses on risk-induced electoral mobilization in referendum campaigns. Positive news framing in a referendum campaign can generate a perception of risk among those voters opposing the proposal and stimulate electoral participation to prevent an undesired outcome that would alter a status quo situation. To test this claim, the authors analyze the effect of news framing on turnout in the context of the 2005 Dutch EU Constitution referendum campaign and combine a media content analysis of national newspapers and television news (n = 6,370) with panel survey data (n = 642) and an experiment (n = 687). Experimental findings show that individuals who are skeptical toward the EU and are subsequently exposed to positive news framing about the EU Constitution are mobilized to turn out and vote against it. The results of the content analysis show that during the Dutch referendum campaign, news media framed the EU Constitution in positive terms. Building these findings into a measure of news exposure in our panel survey, the authors find that higher exposure to referendum news had a mobilizing effect on those opposing the proposal. The experimental and panel data thus show corroborating evidence supporting the central hypothesis about how positive news can mobilize the skeptics to turn out and vote in a referendum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizens depend on information from the mass media when forming their opinion about political issues. Studies have shown that news media coverage of the EU can affect general and policy-specific support for European integration. Extant research has focused on individual-level analyses at specific points in time. The present study considers whether the visibility and the framing of EU news coverage conceptualized as contextual factors influence EU support at an aggregate level. We look at this question in seven EU member states for the period 1990-2006. By utilizing aggregated data of the content analytical indicators and aggregate public support measures in a time-series design, we relate variation in news content to subsequent public opinion dynamics. Our results suggest that both the framing of EU news in terms of benefit and conflict matters for public support. While benefit framing increases public support, conflict framing decreases support. We conclude with a discussion of the use of news content as a contextual variable in explaining the public opinion dynamics and potential benefits of this approach for future media effects research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Last statements of death row inmates represent a genre of discourse characterized by an acute situation in which to express final reflections. This article describes how Texas death row inmates give meaning to their situation by examining their last statements. Between December 1982 and November 2006, 379 offenders were executed on the Texas death row. Through the inspection of 283 last statements made available on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, we identify strategies of self- presentation. In a first stage, we build a textual framework that uncovers a sequential structuring of what these individuals chose to express. Using this framework, the second stage analyzes the individual texts on a micro-level. Depending on the content of the statements, e.g. accepting or denying guilt, we identify key patterns of how inmates attach meaning to their situation and what they choose to express. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This multi-methodological study examined the news framing of the 2004 European Union enlargement in terms of risk and opportunity and the effect both frames had on public support for the enlargement. A content analysis showed that EU enlargement was portrayed as a controversial issue, but with an overall balanced tone of coverage. Risk and opportunity framing played an equally prominent role in the news. An experiment examined the impact of both frames on support for EU enlargement. Participants in the opportunity frame condition showed significantly higher levels of support compared to participants in the risk condition. This framing effect was moderated by political knowledge. Individuals with low levels of political knowledge were more affected by the news frames and more susceptible to risk framing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]