Abstract
ABSTRACTExaminations of the relationship between attitudes about police and news media have regularly been undertaken since the Rodney King incident in 1991. Although cultivation theory, which argues greater news consumption will result in adoption of views of policing provided in the news, offers an appropriate theoretical framework for media studies of this kind, this body of research has largely lacked theoretical grounding. This study tests underlying premises of cultivation regarding the roles of overall news consumption, consumption of different types of news mediums, and exposure to negative news coverage in determining public perceptions of common policing outcomes. It also tests the mostly neglected area of how audiences perceive news they are consuming by considering how fair they deem the news portrayal of police to be. Using a sample of residents from a mid-sized city in California, results indicate consumption of Internet news is related to negative attitudes about police and exposure to negative news about police impacts perceptions, but only if the coverage is seen as fair. Implications for future research and advancement of cultivation as a theoretical framework in this area are discussed.
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