The Spiral of Cynicism Reconsidered

Public debate about and scholarly enquiry into the relationship between news media and political attitudes tend to highlight negative aspects. Research has shown that strategic news coverage focusing on politicians’ motives and style rather than content and policies fuels political cynicism. This ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of communication (London) 2005-09, Vol.20 (3), p.283-301
Main Author: de Vreese, Claes H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Citizens
Communication
Content analysis
Cross-national analysis
Cynicism
Democratic participation
Europe
European integration
European studies
European Union
Mass media
Media studies
News
News media
Political attitudes
Political news
Political participation
Political uses
Politicians
Politics
Reporting
Risk factors
Statistical analysis
Strategic aspects
Strategic studies
U.S.A
United States
Voters
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Summary:Public debate about and scholarly enquiry into the relationship between news media and political attitudes tend to highlight negative aspects. Research has shown that strategic news coverage focusing on politicians’ motives and style rather than content and policies fuels political cynicism. This has been dubbed the ‘spiral of cynicism’. This study, drawing on two-wave panel surveys and content analyses of news media in two countries, challenges this perspective. The negative effects of news on cynicism are contingent upon the level of strategy reporting in the news. Moreover, political sophistication is positively related to cynicism, suggesting that cynicism is perhaps little more than an indication of an ‘interested and critical citizenry’. Finally, when the assumption that cynicism is detrimental to political participation is evaluated, there is in fact little empirical evidence to support a link between cynicism and voter turnout.
ISSN:0267-3231
1460-3705
DOI:10.1177/0267323105055259