Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Nontraditional news negativity: The relationship of entertaining political news use to political cynicism and mistrust

  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

69 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although past research suggested that entertainment viewing may weaken political trust, only a few studies have investigated this outcome for specific types of nontraditional news shows. This study examines the relationship between exposure to three forms of nontraditional news that merge entertainment with informational content - comedy talk shows, satirical news, and cable opinion news - and political mistrust and cynicism. Using data from a national survey (n=777) conducted in the United States, findings indicate that viewing satirical news programs appeared to be related to systemic cynicism, while exposure to all three shows was either directly or indirectly associated with distrust in politicians. Mistrust in the news media, on the other hand, appeared for comedy talk shows and satirical news use only in particular contexts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)287-314
Number of pages28
JournalInternational Journal of Public Opinion Research
Volume23
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2011

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Nontraditional news negativity: The relationship of entertaining political news use to political cynicism and mistrust'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this