Soft News Goes to War

by Baum, Matthew A.

• ISBN13: 9780691115863
• ISBN10: 0691115869
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-01
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

The American public has consistently declared itself less concerned with foreign affairs in the post-Cold War era, even after 9/11, than at any time since World War II. How can it be, then, that public attentiveness to U.S. foreign policy crises has increased? This book represents the first systematic attempt to explain this apparent paradox. Matthew Baum argues that the answer lies in changes to television's presentation of political information. In so doing he develops a compelling "byproduct" theory of information consumption. The information revolution has fundamentally changed the way the mass media, especially television, covers foreign policy. Traditional news has been repackaged into numerous entertainment-oriented news programs and talk shows. By transforming political issues involving scandal or violence (especially attacks against America) into entertainment, the "soft news" media have actually captured more viewers who will now follow news about foreign crises, due to its entertainment value, even if they remain uninterested in foreign policy. Baum rigorously tests his theory through content analyses of traditional and soft news media coverage of various post-WWII U.S. foreign crises and statistical analyses of public opinion surveys. The results hold key implications for the future of American politics and foreign policy. For instance, watching soft news reinforces isolationism among many inattentive Americans. Scholars, political analysts, and even politicians have tended to ignore the soft news media and politically disengaged citizens. But, as this well-written book cogently demonstrates, soft news viewers represent a largely untapped reservoir of unusually persuadable voters.

Author Biography

Matthew A. Baum is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Communications at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

PREFACE	ix
CHAPTER ONE War and Entertainment	1	(17)
Appendix. Defining "Attentiveness"	15	(3)
CHAPTER TWO Soft News and the Accidentally Attentive Public	18	(39)
Appendix. Locating Changes in Cognitive Costs and Benefits	53	(4)
CHAPTER THREE "I heard It on Oprah"	57	(40)
Appendix. Content Analysis Coding Form	95	(2)
CHAPTER FOUR Bringing War to the Masses	97	(59)
Appendix 1. On Using Opinionation as an Indicator of Attentiveness	133	(5)
Appendix 2. Variable Definitions	138	(6)
Appendix 3. Statistical Tables	144	(12)
CHAPTER FIVE Tuning Out the World Isn't as Easy as It Used to Be	156	(56)
Appendix 1. Data Sources and Variable Definitions	195	(5)
Appendix 2. Testing for Floor and Ceiling Effects	200	(2)
Appendix 3. Comparing Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf War	202	(2)
Appendix 4. Statistical Tables	204	(8)
CHAPTER SIX Rallying Round the Water Cooler	212	(17)
Appendix 1. Variable Definitions	223	(2)
Appendix 2. Statistical Tables	225	(4)
CHAPTER SEVEN Soft News and World Views: Foreign Policy Attitudes of the Inattentive Public	229	(40)
Appendix. Statistical Tables	259	(10)
CHAPTER EIGHT Soft News, Public Opinion, and American Foreign Policy: The Good, the Bad, and the Merely Entertaining	269	(26)
Appendix. Statistical Tables	292	(3)
NOTES	295	(35)
REFERENCES	330	(15)
INDEX	345