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Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Joseph N. Cappella

Spiral of Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good 1st Edition

by Joseph N. Cappella (Author), Kathleen Hall Jamieson (Author)

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Why do some citizens vote while others do not? Why does less than half of the American voting public routinely show up at the polls? Why is it that the vast majority of political issues affecting our day-to-day lives fail to generate either public interest or understanding? These questions have troubled political scientists for decades. Here, Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Joseph N. Cappella provide the first conclusive evidence to date that it is indeed the manner in which the print and broadcast media cover political events and issues that fuels voter non-participation.

This book illustrates precisely how the media's heavy focus on the game of politics, rather than on its substance, starts a "spiral of cynicism" that directly causes an erosion of citizen interest and, ultimately, citizen participation. Having observed voters who watched and read different sets of reports--some saturated in strategy talk, others focused on the real issues--the authors show decisive links between the way in which the media covers campaigns' and voters' levels of cynicism and participation. By closely monitoring media coverage among sample audiences for both the recent mayoral race in Philadelphia and the national health care reform debate, the authors confront issues concerning the effects of issue-based and competitive-based political coverage. Finally, they address the question repeatedly asked by news editors, "Will the public read or watch an alternative media coverage that has more substance?" The answer their findings so clearly reveal is "yes."
Spiral of Cynicism is a pioneering work that will urge the media to take a close look at how it covers political events and issues, as well as its degree of culpability in current voter dissatisfaction, cynicism, and non-participation. For, in these pages, a possible cure to such ills is just what Jamieson and Cappella have to offer. Moreover, their work is likely to redefine the terms of the very debate on how politics should be covered in the future.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

According to Joseph Capella and Kathleen Jamieson, the political climate in the United States has come to resemble a traveling circus, full of glitter and hype, yet dreadfully short on content or real-life relevance. This perception has led to an unprecedented level of cynicism by the populace and a general mistrust of politicians and their motives. In Spiral of Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good, the authors hold the media accountable for much of the public's apathy because of the manner in which it perpetuates the style over substance approach, emphasizing sound-bites and flash rather than an objective study of the issues. Relying heavily on copious statistics gleaned from three in-depth experiments, the authors use complex charts and graphs to trace the origin and rise of voter cynicism. By comparing citizens' reaction to strategy talk versus balanced coverage of pertinent issues and facts, the authors conclude that the media should look closely at its methods of coverage and take responsibility for contributing to this pervasive negativity.

Review

"This is an important study with a research model that is an excellent paradigm for students of media and of democratic processes. The methods of testing and of analysis are fully explained....it is invaluable to have the work of scholars like these that so cleanly demonstrates a way to handle the attitudinal causes for political behaviors and a philosophy of the public good."―Publishing Research Quarterly

"Takes the connection between strategic coverage and public cynicism and subjects it to the most rigorous analysis and testing anyone could wish for."―Star Ledger

"Capella and Jamieson provide convincing evidence that people exposed to coverage that focuses on strategy at the expense of issues are more cynical and less informed."―Eye Weekly

"This landmark study is pregnant with profound implications on the proper coverage of politics by the mass media and the proper conduct of politics by citizens and elites alike. It merits a broad audience among politicians, journalists, and engaged citizens, and it promises to be an invaluable text in undergraduate and graduate courses."―Harvard International Journal of Press and Politics

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (May 1, 1997)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195090640
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195090642
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1420L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.88 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,118,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #252 in Media Studies (Books)
- #339 in Political History (Books)
- #1,142 in Elections

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Beau Dure

Should provoke more discussion

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 25, 2001

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Not as accessible as other books in the journalism reform genre (in other words, a little stat-heavy), but it provides a good framework for discussion. Anyone who thinks cynicism and journalism MUST go hand in hand should read this for a refutation and perhaps a few ideas of how to take the journalist's natural *skepticism* (which is very different) and use it a healthy manner.

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