Bøger i Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion (CHUP) serien

Useful for those wishing to understand how American politics is influenced by advertising, this scientific study examines the effects these emotional appeals in political advertising have on voter decision-making. It contains experiments, conducted by the author during an election, with truly eye-opening results that upset conventional wisdom.

Drawing on surveys of public attitudes and analyses of more than 40 years of television and news-magazine stories on poverty, this book demonstrates how public opposition to welfare is fed by a potent combination of racial stereotypes and misinformation about the true nature of America's poor.

Argues that when political candidates attack each other, raising doubts about each other's views, voters - and the democratic process - benefit. This study of negative advertising in presidential campaigns from 1960 to 2004, asserts that the proliferating attack ads are far more likely than positive ads to focus on political issues.

Explores the late-1990s debate surrounding the sources of racism in America. The essays represent three major approaches: the social psychological, the social structural and the non-racially inspired ideology. It assesses the issues on the role of racism in mass politics and public opinion.

How should Americans deal with racial and ethnic diversity? Communities across the country have attempted to answer it by organizing discussions among diverse volunteers in an attempt to improve race relations. This work looks at this strategy to reveal the reasons behind the method and the effects it has in the cities and towns that undertake it.

Robert M. Entman develops a powerful new model of how media framing works - a model that allows him to explain why the media cheered American victories over small-time dictators in Grenada and Panama but barely noticed far more difficult missions in Haiti and Kosovo.

Looking at the intimate relationship between political power and the news media, this title argues that the dependence of reporters on official sources disastrously thwarts coverage of dissenting voices from outside the Beltway.

The world's richer democracies all provide such public benefits as pensions and health care, but why are some far more generous than others? Analyzing data on sixteen countries, this work finds that the preferences of citizens profoundly influence the welfare policies of their governments and the behavior of politicians in office.

Living in a segregated society, white Americans learn about African Americans through the images the media show them. This text offers a comprehensive look at the intricate racial patterns in the mass media and how they shape the ambivalent attitudes of whites toward blacks.