A Panel Study of Media Effects on Political and Social Trust after September 11, 2001

Abstract

The authors examine the relationship between media consumption and political trust, social trust, and confidence in governmental institutions in the year following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This period provides a unique opportunity to explore the effects of media use on trust, given that political and social trust surged in the immediate aftermath only to decline in the months that followed. Using data from a panel survey, the authors find that television news use was associated with higher levels of trust in government and confidence in institutions during the surge that followed the terrorist attacks. Individual-level change in trust and confidence over the year that followed was not, however, attributable to media use or changes in media use. In the case of social trust, the results suggest that television news and newspaper use were not associated with social trust in the immediate aftermath but were associated with individual-level change in social trust over the course of the following year. Specifically, those who watched television news exhibited declines in social trust and those who read newspapers exhibited increased social trust between fall 2001 and late summer 2002. The authors conclude by discussing how coverage in fall 2001 and changes in coverage over the following year may help to explain these results.