Media Change and the Political Effects of Television: Americanization of the Political Culture?

Abstract

The analysis presented in this article tests some presumptions about a possible Americanization of the political culture in Germany due to changes of the media system. It is based on public opinion trends and a representative survey of 6,000 respondents. Multivariate analyses show that high attention to information in all mass media strengthens or even improves German citizens' interest in politics and their feeling to be capable of understanding politics. Newspaper reading and radio listening are more beneficial in this respect than television viewing. At the same time, television viewing reinforces negative political stereotypes or even reduces political trust. This effect can be mainly attributed to the use of TV information programs, whereas attention to newspaper information is not associated with negative political effects. There is a mainstreaming of the political views of population segments with high and low political competence. The results seem to correspond to the changes in coverage and style of German political television programs.