Showing papers by "Dietram A. Scheufele published in 2007"

Framing, Agenda Setting, and Priming: The Evolution of Three Media Effects Models

Abstract: This special issue of Journal of Communication is devoted to theoretical explanations of news framing, agenda setting, and priming effects. It examines if and how the three models are related and what potential relationships between them tell theorists and researchers about the effects of mass media. As an introduction to this effort, this essay provides a very brief review of the three effects and their roots in media-effects research. Based on this overview, we highlight a few key dimensions along which one can compare, framing, agenda setting, and priming. We conclude with a description of the contexts within which the three models operate, and the broader implications that these conceptual distinctions have for the growth of our discipline. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00326.x In 1997, Republican pollster Frank Luntz sent out a 222-page memo called ‘‘Language of the 21st century’’ to select members of the U.S. Congress. Parts of the memo soon spread among staffers, members of Congress, and also journalists. Luntz’s message was simple: ‘‘It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it’’ (Luntz, in press). Drawing on various techniques for real-time message testing and focus grouping, Frank Luntz had researched Republican campaign messages and distilled terms and phrases that resonated with specific interpretive schemas among audiences and therefore helped shift people’s attitudes. In other words, the effect of the messages was not a function of content differences but of differences in the modes of presentation. The ideas outlined in the memo were hardly new, of course, and drew on decades of existing research in sociology (Goffman, 1974), economics (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979), psychology (Kahneman & Tversky, 1984), cognitive linguistics (Lakoff, 2004), and communication (Entman, 1991; Iyengar, 1991). But Frank Luntz was the first professional pollster to systematically use the concept of framing as a campaign tool. The Democratic Party soon followed and George Lakoff published Don’t Think of an

Scientists worry about some risks more than the public

Abstract: A comparison between two recent national surveys among nanoscientists and the general public in the US shows that, in general, nanoscientists are more optimistic than the public about the potential benefits of nanotechnology. However, for some issues related to the environmental and long-term health impacts of nanotechnology, nanoscientists were significantly more concerned than the public.

Finally Informing the Electorate? How the Internet Got People Thinking about Presidential Politics in 2004

Abstract: Recent research has suggested that traditional and online news sources may differ with respect to their ability to inform audiences. In particular, there is tentative evidence that the hyperlink st...

The future of public engagement

Abstract: Agenda. After six months of working intensely on several new projects, Dr. Friedman took a 15 minute break to breathe and talk a bit about where public engagement at Public Agenda is headed. The complete conversation is available on Public Agenda's web site: www.publicagenda.org I continued on page 4 iscipline and behavior problems in America's public schools are seriously compromising student learning. They are also driving a substantial number of teachers out of the profession according to a study from Public Agenda released in May titled Teaching Interrupted: Do Discipline Policies in Today's Public Schools Foster the Common Good? The report was prepared for Common Good, a bipartisan legal reform coalition dedicated to restoring common sense to American law. It was the second project Public Agenda has worked on with Common Good to look at how litigation and education policy intersect. Teaching Interrupted dramatically illustrates the impact of discipline problems in schools, reporting that more than 1 in 3 teachers said colleagues in their school had left because student discipline was such a challenge, and the same number personally considered leaving. Many complained about Editor: This is a busy time for the public engagement team at Public Agenda, isn't it? Will Friedman: Right now we're working with a police-community dialogue project in three cities (New Haven, San Antonio and New York City), a statewide education project in Nebraska, and a nationwide initiative to improve community college results for underserved students. There are also a number of important projects in the pipeline. The work in Nebraska is an interesting example. Public Agenda began working with the Department of Education in Nebraska eight or nine years ago when we helped them organize statewide conversations on academic standards. And now the state has come back and asked us to help them engage citizens on a related theme: What are the educational opportunities that should be available to every student in every school no matter where they live in the state? What should be considered an essential education? What's really interesting about the project is where it will go next year, because the question that follows directly behind is really the more contentious one. Nebraska will need to explore how it will go about ensuring that all students actually have those essential educational opportunities, and that's going to bring them into trickier questions. E: You have a new title, but you've been involved in …

My Friend's Enemy: How Split-Screen Debate Coverage Influences Evaluation of Presidential Debates:

Abstract: Leading up to the 2004 presidential debates, there was considerable discussion about the mode of presentation on television, that is, debate coverage with simultaneous reaction shots of the opponent while a candidate was speaking or coverage with isolated shorts of each candidate only. In fact, many commentators argued that split-screen coverage of Bush's reactions to Kerry's statements hurt the president during the first debate. This study analyzes the impact of split-versus single-screen debate coverage in the 2004 campaign using a large-scale experimental design with about 700 participants, conducted at a large midwestern university. Consistent with explanatory models from political science and social psychology, findings show that split-screen coverage led Bush supporters to become more extreme in their positive and negative judgments about Bush and Kerry, respectively. Kerry supporters however, had strong views about Bush from the beginning and changed little based on the mode of coverage.

The Polls—Trends Public Reactions to Global Health Threats and Infectious Diseases

Abstract: Over the past two decades, newly emerging infectious dis eases have developed into major global health concerns, sparking intense media coverage, and triggering fears of a global outbreak among public health experts and authorities. This article focuses on trends in American attitudes toward these newly emerged infectious diseases by analyzing poll data over the past 6 years about issues relating to avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome, West Nile virus, and anthrax. The polls show that Americans' attention to news coverage seemed to be event driven, peaking when there were new human or animal cases, and decreasing rapidly when the diseases seemed to have been contained. Americans' perceptions of threats were usually the highest in the early stages of ma jor outbreaks. The public became more complacent when the outbreaks seemed to be under control. Both behavioral changes and general knowl edge remained largely constant, suggesting a limited impact of the various informational and awareness campaigns by governmental agencies in the wake of these pandemics.

Gender-Biased Data in Survey Research Regarding Wildlife

Abstract: Underrepresentation of females among respondents to mail surveys focused on wildlife is a growing concern for survey researchers. In an effort to better understand why females are underrepresented, we analyzed the sample frame of a wildlife-focused survey for which a notable disparity existed between the number of male and female respondents in relation to actual population figures. An analysis of the sample frame used for this study indicated that male bias existed that likely contributed to female underrepresentation among survey respondents. Suggestions are made for improving sampling frames to minimize gender bias.

The role of presence awareness in organizational communication: An exploratory field experiment

Abstract: Millions of adults currently use instant messaging (IM) in the workplace, and yet there is very little research examining how use and perceptions of this new medium affect intra-organizational communication. While one of the characteristics of instant messaging is the ability to exchange real-time communication, what truly distinguishes instant messaging from other widely adopted forms of mediated communication is the integration of presence technology, which allows parties to detect if others are online and available to communicate. In this paper, we propose a theory of productivity benefits of presence-aware communication technology, building upon past research. Based on this model, we use a quasi-experimental longitudinal research design to test how providing instant messaging to selected workgroups at a Fortune 500 company impacts employees' attitudes and work behavior. Results suggest that IM use had a positive effect on improving productivity with participants citing reductions in voice mail and phone tag, improvements to how easy it was to see if colleagues were online and available to communicate as well as increased productivity served by back-channel communications conducted via IM. Results and future research directions are discussed.