Mass Media Effects: Mobilization or Media Malaise?

TLDR

Mass media are debated to either erode civic engagement through apathy and cynicism or to inform and mobilize citizens, with scholars differing on whether content or form drives these effects. The study tests mobilization versus mediamalaise hypotheses, finding little evidence for the latter. Broadsheet newspaper readership is strongly linked to political mobilization, television has a weaker link, and neither tabloid newspapers nor general TV are strongly tied to mediamalaise, suggesting media content rather than form is key.

Abstract

According to some, the modern mass media have a malign effect on modern democracy, tending to induce political apathy, alienation, cynicism and a loss of social capital – in a word, ‘mediamalaise’. Some theorists argue that this is the result of media content, others that it is the consequence of the form of the media, especially television. According to others, the mass media, in conjunction with rising educational levels, help to inform and mobilize people politically, making them more knowledgeable and understanding. This study investigates the mobilization and mediamalaise hypotheses, and finds little to support the latter. Reading a broadsheet newspaper regularly is strongly associated with mobilization, while watching a lot of television has a weaker association of the same kind. Tabloid newspapers and general television are not strongly associated with measures of mediamalaise. It seems to be the content of the media, rather than its form which is important.