Effects of Media Exposure on Support for
Incumbents and Institutions
By
Lee Franklin, UC-Irvine
Jennifer Danley-Scott, UC-Riverside
Paper prepared for presentation at the 2004 meeting of the Southern Political Science
Association, New Orleans, LA, January 8-10, 2004.
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Abstract
This goal of this study is to examine the role of the media in promoting support for
institutions and incumbents. Current theory holds that a critical or negative press decreases
citizens’ support for those people or institutions being critiqued. Most studies rely on survey
data in order to argue that exposure to the media increases level of cynicism and increases
distrust of government. However, there is a concern of what attitudes questions are tapping.
For instance, democratic support is very different from incumbent support. But how does
support for an incumbent or an institution translate to support for democracy? This paper is an
exploratory work in which the authors surveyed a random sample of Los Angeles county
residents in order to assess the effects of media on attitudes towards institutions, incumbents
and democracy. It is hoped that findings from this work will provide direction so that the
research can be expanded to emerging democracies and provide insight into the role of the
media in promoting support for democracy in those countries.
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Introduction
Many see the media as a means by which ‘the people’ can exercise some oversight of
political institutions. As an institution whose importance rests on its ability to check the
powers of government, the press can be vital in the development of a strong and stable
democracy. However, not all see the role of the press as so vital or so neutral. Media theory
vacillates between those who argue for the ‘minimal effects’ of the media and those that argue
the negative ramifications from media exposure to support for and trust in government. Using
the theory of diffuse and specific support th