October 31, 2000
Some media can increase public’s confidence in government by increasing knowledge
What people don’t know can definitely hurt them — or at
least decrease their level of confidence in government.
In
her new book “With Malice Toward All? The Media and Public
Confidence in Democratic Institutions,” University of
Washington communications professor Patricia Moy says there’s
a relationship between media use, knowledge and confidence in
government. She and co-author Michael Pfau, a University of
Wisconsin professor, found that print media like newspapers
and newsmagazines do a good job of informing the public and
therefore increase confidence in government. But television
tends to cast a negative light on government, eroding
viewers’ confidence.
“Television provides a fun-house
mirror image of reality,” Moy said. “It’s a bit distorted and
therefore relying on television news tends to erode
confidence levels, whereas reading newspapers has the
opposite effect.”
In fact, her study shows that newspaper
and newsmagazine reading increased knowledge and therefore
confidence more than 95 percent of the time. But watching
television news increased knowledge and confidence only 20
percent of the time.
Further confounding the confidence
issue, Moy says, is the increasing prevalence of
nontraditional media. Talk radio, late-night television talk
shows, and shows like the “X-Files” and “The West Wing” are
influencing people’s attitudes, according to Moy.
“Viewers
are getting mixed messages from the ‘X-Files,’ where the
protagonists are two FBI agents, and the villains oftentimes
are other government officials,” Moy said. “Similarly, by
critiquing our political process, ‘The West Wing’ helps to
define viewers’ expectations of the office of the presidency.
Unfortunately, if people rely only on entertainment
programming for news, then their perceptions of the White
House can become extremely distorted.”
Ideally, Moy says,
citizens would seek information about government from a
number of different media sources, with at least one of those
being a daily newspaper or a newsmagazine. Interpersonal
discussion with friends, family and colleagues also helps,
particularly when new or dissenting views are brought into
the conversation. “You should expose yourself to information
that helps you to understand — though not necessarily agree
with — other perspectives,” Moy said.
While Moy would like
to see the public’s trust reinvigorated somewhat, she also
knows that some distrust is a healthy part of
democracy.
“People tend to think of a lack of trust as
detrimental to the system,” Moy said. “A scenario where 90
percent of the people don’t trust the government is
problematic. But the reverse scenario, where 90 percent of
the people blindly trust the government, warrants concern as
well. Too much complacency is dangerous.”
###
For more
information, contact Moy at (206) 543-9676 or
pmoy@u.washington.edu.
