Abstract
Various scholars, pundits, and journalists, along with a majority of the American public believe incivility in politics is increasing. Nevertheless, the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s (APPC) baseline measure of political incivility remains relatively flat. How can these incongruous conclusions be reconciled? This article suggests that perceptions of political incivility are a function of viewing distinct genres of television news media: “hostile” cable news versus network news. Using a content and secondary data analysis, this article demonstrates that (1) cable news outlets provide more coverage of elite political incivility than do network news outlets and that (2) cable news viewers perceive politics to be more uncivil than do network news viewers. Combined with previous research, the results suggest cable news viewers may perceive more incivility in national politics than actually exists. Theoretically, this article provides support for genre-specific media cultivation effects. Implications for cultivation theory and incivility are discussed.
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