Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

In this uses and effects study, we explored YouTube use during the 2008 U.S. presidential primaries. Survey results suggested that traditional news sources (i.e., network television) were the source of content most often accessed on YouTube for political information. Participants used YouTube predominantly for habitual entertainment and information-seeking purposes. But there was a strong relationship between political surveillance motivation and watching news, political ads, direct-to-camera videos, and campaign ads, suggesting YouTube could be a significant medium in future elections.

Considerable research over the years has been devoted to ascertaining the impact of media use on political cynicism. The impact of the Internet has been difficult to assess because it is not a single monolithic medium. For example, the 2008 presidential campaign was the first presidential campaign in which popular social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube were widely available to voters. Therefore, the campaign offered the first opportunity to explore the influence of these social media on political cynicism. In this study, we examined whether the use of such social media influenced political cynicism. We also considered the influence of user background characteristics (e.g., self-efficacy, locus of control, political orientation, demographics, and influence of family and friends), motives for using social media for political information, and users’ elaboration on political content. Several individual differences were stronger predictors of political cynicism than was social media use. In fact, social networking use was a negative predictor of political cynicism. Results supported uses and gratifications’ notions that the influence of social media on political cynicism is more attributable to user background and media-use differences than to sheer use of these popular sites.

This article explores cinematic and journalistic treatments of issues, focusing on the movie Blood Diamond (2006, dir. Edward Zwick) and news coverage of conflict diamonds. First, the author examines Hollywood’s impact on news, highlighting central ideas of agenda-setting theory and framing as well as the potential for synergistic influences on news due to concentration of media ownership. Second, she discusses the themes and narrative techniques of Blood Diamond, as well as its messages about the diamond trade, American consumerism, and journalistic norms and responsibilities. Third, she assesses print and broadcast news regarding conflict diamonds in the wake of the movie’s release. Finally, she suggests areas for research into linkages between film and news as industries and forms of mass communication.