BIASED PRESS OR BIASED PUBLIC? ATTITUDES TOWARD MEDIA COVERAGE OF SOCIAL GROUPS |
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| Authors: | GUNTHER ALBERT C. |
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| Affiliation: | ALBERT C. GUNTHER is assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. I thank Cecilie Gaziano, project director for the collection of these data, and Diana Mutz, Steven Chaffee, and Garrett O'Keefe, who provided helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article. Thanks also to Paul Mundy and Lulu Rodriguez for help with preparation of data and tables. |
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| Abstract: | Mass media credibility has been defined and studied largelyas an attribute of message sources. This article argues thattrust in media can be better understood as a relational variable—anaudience response to media content. In addition, audience assessmentsof credibility are commonly explained as the result of eachindividual's skeptical disposition, either toward mass mediain particular or as a general trait. The author dissents fromthis view as well, proposing that distrust is more likely tobe a situational response, stemming from involvement with issuesand groups. Using data from a national probability sample, thehypothesis was tested by analyzing the effect of numerous independentvariables on respondent ratings of newspaper and televisionnews coverage of social groups. As hypothesized, a respon dent'sown group identification proved to be the strongest predictor.The evidence was strengthened by replication across social groups,which provided built-in controls and demonstrated that an importantpart of the variance in trust of mass media news is within personsrather than between persons. |
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