The Mass Media as Sentinel: Why Bad News About Issues is Good News for Participation |
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| Authors: | Paul S Martin |
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| Institution: | 1. Miller Center of Public Affairs , University of Virginia , pmartin@virginia.edu |
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| Abstract: | This article argues that negative news coverage of politically relevant social issues stimulates political participation by shaping citizen awareness of collective problems and interest in politics. By drawing citizen attention to social problems that government may attend to, the press acts as a sentinel for the mass public, cuing them to periods when participation is more important. Drawing on an analysis of the 1974 National Election Study in combination with the Center for Political Studies' content analysis of newspapers, I find evidence that bad news about issues is good news for participation. |
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| Keywords: | 1974 election mass media negativity political participation social problems |
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