Nontraditional News Negativity: The Relationship of Entertaining Political News Use to Political Cynicism and Mistrust

Abstract

Although past research suggested that entertainment viewing may weaken political trust, only a few studies have investigated this outcome for specific types of nontraditional news shows. This study examines the relationship between exposure to three forms of nontraditional news that merge entertainment with informational content— comedy talk shows, satirical news, and cable opinion news—and political mistrust and cynicism. Using data from a national survey (n1⁄4 777) conducted in the United States, findings indicate that viewing satirical news programs appeared to be related to systemic cynicism, while exposure to all three shows was either directly or indirectly associated with distrust in politicians. Mistrust in the news media, on the other hand, appeared for comedy talk shows and satirical news use only in particular contexts. The news is often criticized for contributing to the public’s distaste for politics, especially because the tone of its political coverage is frequently negative. Yet, the growing popularity of alternative news options, such as cable opinion news (Project for Excellence in Journalism [PEJ], 2009) and satirical news, and the declining audience for traditional television news (Pew Center, 2008) indicate that individuals may be supplementing their use of traditional television news or replacing it altogether. How might the use of these more entertaining news forms affect the public’s political views? Such shows depict negativity, but possibly in ways differing from conventional news programs. While traditional news is argued to generate deep mistrust, or cynicism, All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lauren Guggenheim, Department of Communication Studies, University of Michigan, 5344 North Quad, 105 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1285, USA. E-mail: lguggen@umich.edu especially towards politicians, potentially leading to declining turnout and weakening democracy (e.g., Cappella & Jamieson, 1997), the treatment given to politics by nontraditional news, while portraying other types of negativity, may nonetheless produce similar outcomes. Three forms of news on American television that are both negative and designed to be entertaining include comedy talk shows, cable opinion news programs, and satirical news. While previous research has looked at traditional news, this study looks solely at these three nontraditional forms of news. Past work suggested that entertainment viewing may weaken political trust (Bennett, Rhine, Flickinger, & Bennett, 1999; Holtz-Bacha, 1990; Pfau, Moy, Radler, & Bridgeman, 1998); however, only a few studies have considered specific types of nontraditional news shows (Baumgartner & Morris, 2006, 2008; Forgette & Morris, 2006; Hoffman & Thomson, 2009; Mutz & Reeves, 2005; Tsfati, Tukachinsky, & Peri, 2009). This study expands on research about nontraditional news (also commonly called soft news or infotainment) by considering how it might produce distrusting and cynical attitudes. Content analyses are reviewed to make the case that nontraditional news targets different players within the political system for negativity. Then, the relationship between the viewing of these shows and distrust and cynicism targeted at different political actors is examined. By more closely considering the type of negativity employed by each infotainment show, as well as whom each show targets, a clearer, more nuanced understanding of how entertainment, specifically entertaining news, is associated with public distrust and cynicism may be gained. Media Negativity and Political Trust Since the early 1970s, research has attempted to connect the rise of television viewing with declining political trust, and ultimately turnout. Robinson’s (1976) ‘‘videomalaise’’ concept defined public distrust as an outcome of television news’ emphasis on negativity. Some have since argued that news (both television news and print news) negativity is common because journalists consider negative topics, such as scandals and behaviors that violate typical norms of conduct, to be newsworthy (Fallows, 1996; Gans, 1979; Patterson, 1994). However, Norris (2000) argued that if learning and other forms of political engagement are taken into account along with attitudes towards government, there is actually a virtuous rather than vicious circle, demonstrating that news actually contributes to civic health. Other survey studies also indicate that, in many cases, the news fails to contribute to cynicism or distrust and can even be related to more trusting attitudes (e.g., Holtz-Bacha, 1990; Newton, 1999; Wilkins, 2000). On the other hand, this literature stands in contrast to studies using other methodologies, such as experiments and panel designs, as well as I N T E R N A T I O N A L J O U R N A L O F P U B L I C O P I N I O N R E S E A R C H 288