The Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and the Media (Oxford Handbooks)

Public opinion and the media form the foundation of the United States' representative democracy. They are the subject of enormous scrutiny by scholars, pundits, and ordinary citizens. This Oxford Handbook takes on the 'big questions' about public opinion and the media-both empirical and normative-focusing on current debates and social scientific research. Bringing together the thinking of a team of leading academic experts, its chapters provide a cutting assessment of contemporary research on public opinion, the media, and their interconnections. Emphasizing changes in the mass media and communications technology-the vast number of cable channels, websites and blogs, and the new social media, which are changing how news about political life is collected and conveyed-they describe the evolving information interdependence of the media and public opinion. In addition, the volume reviews the wide range of influences on public opinion, including the processes by which information communicated through the media can affect the public. It describes what has been learned from the latest research in psychology, genetics, and studies of the impact of gender, race and ethnicity, economic status, education and sophistication, religion, and generational change on a wide range of political attitudes and perceptions. The Handbook includes extensive discussion of how public opinion and mass media coverage are studied through survey research and increasingly through experiments using the latest technological advances. The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics are a set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of scholarship on American politics. Each volume focuses on a particular aspect of the field. The project is under the General Editorship of George C. Edwards III, and distinguished specialists in their respective fields edit each volume. The Handbooks aim not just to report on the discipline, but also to shape it as scholars critically assess the scholarship on a topic and propose directions in which it needs to move. The series is an indispensable reference for anyone working in American politics. Cover 1 Preface 6 Contents 8 Lists of Figures and Tables 13 About the Contributors 14 PART I INTRODUCTION: THE NEW INTERDEPENDENCE OF PUBLIC OPINION, THE MEDIA, AND POLITICS 20 1. Informational Interdependence 22 2. The Internet and Four Dimensions of Citizenship 41 3. A Possible Next Frontier in Political Communication Research 62 PART II THE MEDIA 78 Section One: Foundations 79 4. Tocqueville’s Interesting Error 80 5. Partisans, Watchdogs, and Entertainers 93 6. The News Industry 108 7. What’s News 124 8. Soft News and the Four Oprah Effects 140 Section Two: Measurement and Method 157 9. Exposure Measures and Content Analysis in Media Effects Studies 158 10. The Future of Political Communication Research 175 Section Three: Effects 188 11. Public–Elite Interactions 189 12. Issue Framing 208 13. Campaigning, Debating, Advertising 223 14. Media Influences on Political Trust and Engagement 239 15. The Effect of Media on Public Knowledge 255 16. News Polls 270 PART III PUBLIC OPINION 286 Section Four: Foundations 287 17. Democracy and the Concept of Public Opinion 288 18. Constructing Public Opinion 303 19. Critical Perspectives on Public Opinion 321 Section Five: Measurement 334 20. The Accuracy of Opinion Polling and its Relation to its Future 335 21. Representative Sampling and Survey Non-Response 351 22. Instrument Design 367 Section Six: Micro-Level Frameworks 386 23. Political Cognition and Public Opinion 387 24. Emotion and Public Opinion 403 25. Prospect Theory and Risk Assessment 421 26. Connecting the Social and Biological Bases of Public Opinion 436 27. Attitude Organization in the Mass Public 455 Section Seven: The Pluralism of Public Opinion 471 28. Political Socialization 472 29. On the Complex and Varied Political Effects of Gender 490 30. The Contours of Black Public Opinion 507 31. Latino Public Opinion 524 32. Asian-American Public Opinion 539 33. A Vine with Many Branches 554 34. Class Differences in Social and Political Attitudes in the United States 571 35. Knowledge, Sophistication, and Issue Publics 590 PART IV ISSUES AND POLITICS 606 Section Eight: Domestic 607 36. Public Opinion, the Media, and Economic Well-Being 608 37. Race, Public Opinion, the Media 624 38. Public Opinion, the Media, and Social Issues 641 39. Big Government and Public Opinion 658 Section Nine: Foreign Policy and Security 676 40. Public Opinion, Foreign Policy, and the Media 677 41. Public Opinion, the Media, and War 694 42. The Media, Public Opinion, and Terrorism 709 PART V DEMOCRACY UNDER STRESS 730 43. The Democratic Paradox 732 Name Index 752 Subject Index 777 Public opinion and the media form the foundation of the United States' representative democracy. They are the subject of enormous scrutiny by scholars, pundits, and ordinary citizens. This Oxford Handbook takes on the "big questions" about public opinion and the media--both empirical and normative--focusing on current debates and social scientific research. Bringing together the thinking of a team of leading academic experts, its chapters provide a cutting assessment of contemporary research on public opinion, the media, and their interconnections. Emphasizing changes in the mass media and communications technology--the vast number of cable channels, websites and blogs, and the new social media, which are changing how news about political life is collected and conveyed--they describe the evolving information interdependence of the media and public opinion. In addition, The Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and the Media reviews the wide range of influences on public opinion, including the processes by which information communicated through the media can affect the public. It describes what has been learned from the latest research in psychology, genetics, and studies of the impact of gender, race and ethnicity, economic status, education and sophistication, religion, and generational change on a wide range of political attitudes and perceptions. The Handbook includes extensive discussion of how public opinion and mass media coverage are studied through survey research and increasingly through experiments using the latest technological advances. The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics are a set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of scholarship on American politics. Each volume focuses on a particular aspect of the field. The project is under the General Editorship of George C. Edwards III, and distinguished specialists in their respective fields edit each volume. The Handbooks aim not just to report on the discipline, but also to shape it as scholars critically assess the scholarship on a topic and propose directions in which it needs to move. The series is an indispensable reference for anyone working in American politics. ## Abstract Public opinion and the media form the foundation of the United States' representative democracy, and are the subject of enormous scrutiny by scholars, pundits, and ordinary citizens. This handbook takes on the big questions about public opinion and the media both empirical and normative focusing on current debates and social scientific research. Bringing together the thinking of a team of academic experts, its chapters provide an assessment of contemporary research on public opinion, the media, and their interconnections. Emphasizing changes in the mass media and communications technology the vast number of cable channels, websites and blogs, and the new social media, which are changing how news about political life is collected and conveyed they describe the evolving information interdependence of the media and public opinion. In addition, the handbook reviews the wide range of influences on public opinion, including the processes by which information communicated through the media can affect the public. It describes what has been learnt from the latest research in psychology and genetics, and studies of the impact of gender, race and ethnicity, economic status, education and sophistication, religion, and generational change, on a wide range of political attitudes and perceptions. The handbook includes extensive discussion of how public opinion and mass media coverage are studied through survey research and increasingly through experiments using the latest technological advances. With Engaging New Contributions From The Major Figures In The Fields Of The Media And Public Opinion, 'the Oxford Handbook Of American Public Opinion And The Media' Is A Key Point Of Reference For Anyone Working In American Politics Today. Edited By Robert Y. Shapiro And Lawrence R. Jacobs. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.