Periodic Reporting for period 3 - VARME (Varieties of Media Effects)
Période du rapport: 2022-03-01 au 2023-08-31
Then main problem addressed in this project concerns how the news media influence how citizens perceive societal problems over longer periods of time. We know from extensive research that media coverage matter when it comes to influencing how citizens perceive the world around them, but we know less about the dynamics and varieties of these influences over time. To provide a more comprehensive understanding of such influences, the project expands on a variety of media effects including the formation, stability and change beliefs.
Understanding how citizens' perceptions of societal problems are shaped is fundamental for broader patterns of public opinion formation in democratic societies. Citizens rely on various media for making sense of the "world outside" and such perceptions exert a significant impact on voting behavior. Today's media environment provides multiple opportunities for citizens to select among different news sources offering various perspectives on society. Therefore, the project also looks at how such news choices matter for a variety of media effects.
Thus, the overall objective of VARME is to determine the long-term effects of the news media on citizens’ beliefs about societal problems. As such, VARME focuses on a variety of media effects of substantial theoretical and societal significance, relating to how (a) news coverage and (b) selective news media use influence the formation, maintenance, reinforcement and change of societal beliefs over time.
Understanding how citizens' perceptions of societal problems are shaped is fundamental for broader patterns of public opinion formation in democratic societies. Citizens rely on various media for making sense of the "world outside" and such perceptions exert a significant impact on voting behavior. Today's media environment provides multiple opportunities for citizens to select among different news sources offering various perspectives on society. Therefore, the project also looks at how such news choices matter for a variety of media effects.
Thus, the overall objective of VARME is to determine the long-term effects of the news media on citizens’ beliefs about societal problems. As such, VARME focuses on a variety of media effects of substantial theoretical and societal significance, relating to how (a) news coverage and (b) selective news media use influence the formation, maintenance, reinforcement and change of societal beliefs over time.
Since the start of the project, work has primarily focused on (1) planning and designing empirical studies, (2) fielding a number of data collections, (3) theory development, conceptualization and literature review, as well as (4) writing and preparing manuscripts.
With respect to empirical studies, the project has so far started (and partly completed) data collections from a long-term panel survey, focus groups, experiments, an event-driven study and media coverage. The long-term panel survey tracks public perceptions of eight societal issues over several years, the focus groups provide in-depth data on how citizens' perceive and discuss various societal problems, the experiments focus on how different news frames influence perceptions of societal problems, and the event study looks specifically at belief formation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A key outcome from the project thus far relates to contributions to theory development and conceptualization. An extensive literature review and theoretical conceptualization of long-term media effects was published in the Annals of the International Communication Association. The paper develops a comprehensive conceptualization and theoretical framework for studying long-term media effects on societal beliefs, focusing specifically on the varieties of media effects suggested in VARME. A specific aspect of the relationship societal beliefs and media effects is also further developed in a companion entry from the project, focusing on how specific characteristics of societal perceptions condition media effects. An additional project article also shows how to identify and capture some of these dynamic effects statistically.
Apart from these theoretical and conceptual papers, a number of empirical publications address specific research questions relating to belief dynamics during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on how societal perceptions relate to media coverage and news media use. Manuscripts currently in review processes focus on the relationship between media coverage and news media use on the one hand and perceptions of antibiotic resistance and climate change on the other hand, as well as the maintenance and reinforcement effects of selective media use.
With respect to empirical studies, the project has so far started (and partly completed) data collections from a long-term panel survey, focus groups, experiments, an event-driven study and media coverage. The long-term panel survey tracks public perceptions of eight societal issues over several years, the focus groups provide in-depth data on how citizens' perceive and discuss various societal problems, the experiments focus on how different news frames influence perceptions of societal problems, and the event study looks specifically at belief formation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A key outcome from the project thus far relates to contributions to theory development and conceptualization. An extensive literature review and theoretical conceptualization of long-term media effects was published in the Annals of the International Communication Association. The paper develops a comprehensive conceptualization and theoretical framework for studying long-term media effects on societal beliefs, focusing specifically on the varieties of media effects suggested in VARME. A specific aspect of the relationship societal beliefs and media effects is also further developed in a companion entry from the project, focusing on how specific characteristics of societal perceptions condition media effects. An additional project article also shows how to identify and capture some of these dynamic effects statistically.
Apart from these theoretical and conceptual papers, a number of empirical publications address specific research questions relating to belief dynamics during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on how societal perceptions relate to media coverage and news media use. Manuscripts currently in review processes focus on the relationship between media coverage and news media use on the one hand and perceptions of antibiotic resistance and climate change on the other hand, as well as the maintenance and reinforcement effects of selective media use.
Both the theoretical conceptualization of long-term media effects developed as part of the project as well as the proposed empirical approach, provide key contributions to the field. The theoretical development and conceptualization expands and outlines a variety of distinct media influences that go beyond what is commonly addressed in empirical research. As such, the theoretical framework provides a generic approach for understanding the processes and dynamics of media effects applicable to a wide range of more specific research questions and theories of media effects. This contribution is thereby widely applicable to a range of media effects studies.
Upcoming empirical studies conducted as part of the project will test these specific dynamics using longitudinal data on public perceptions of various societal issues. The more elaborated dynamics of belief stability and change conceptualized will be possible to fully address only when additional waves of data collections have been completed in the later stages of the project.
Upcoming empirical studies conducted as part of the project will test these specific dynamics using longitudinal data on public perceptions of various societal issues. The more elaborated dynamics of belief stability and change conceptualized will be possible to fully address only when additional waves of data collections have been completed in the later stages of the project.