FOX NEWS AND AMERICAN POLITICS
Dan Cassino expands our understanding of Fox News impact on what Americans know about politics and how they respond to political events. Particularly fascinating is the way Prof. Cassino documents Foxs impact on the 2012 Republican nomination; the dramatic changes in the candidates fortunes over time are much better understood by reading this book. But the bigger picture it paints is important as well: the influence of Fox News on American politics is not easily accounted for by simple media framing perspectives. Instead, as Prof. Cassino shows, Fox News not only sets agendas, but its coverage is also linked to measurable behaviors as the choices of what and how it covers politics seem to be able to move viewers with certain tendencies to action. This book will be a valuable addition to any readers collection on media and public opinion.
David Redlawsk, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University
In recent years, scholars have argued that the ability of people to choose which channel they want to watch means that television news is just preaching to the choir, and doesnt change any minds. However, this book shows that the media still has an enormous direct impact on American society and politics.
While past research has emphasized the indirect effects of media content on attitudes through priming or framing, for instance Dan Cassino argues that past data on both the public opinion and the media sides wasnt detailed enough to uncover it. Using a combination of original national surveys, large-scale content analysis of news coverage along with data sets as disparate as FBI gun background checks and campaign contribution records, Cassino discusses why its important to treat different media sources separately, estimating levels of ideological bias for television media sources as well as the differences in the topics the various media sources cover. Taking this into account proves that exposure to some media sources can serve to actually make Americans less knowledgeable about current affairs, and more likely to buy into conspiracy theories.
Even in an era of declining viewership, the media especially Fox News is shaping our society and our politics. This book documents how this is happening, and shows the consequences for Americans. The quality of journalism is more than an academic question: when coverage focuses on questionable topics, or political bias, there are consequences.
Dan Cassino is Associate Professor of Political Science at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Director of Experimental Research for the PublicMind poll. He conducts research on American politics and political psychology.
Routledge Studies in Political Psychology
Edited by Howard Lavine, University of Minnesota
Advisory Board: Ted Brader, University of Michigan; Eugene Borgida, University of Minnesota; Marc Ross, Bryn Mawr College and Linda Skitka, University of Illinois, Chicago
Routledge Studies in Political Psychology was developed to publish books representing the widest range of theoretical, methodological and epistemological approaches in political psychology. The series is intended to expand awareness of the creative application of psychological theory within the domain of politics and foster deeper appreciation of the psychological roots of political behavior.
1. The Many Faces of Tolerance
Attitudes towards Diversity in Poland
Ewa A. Golebiowska
2. Emotions in Conflict
Inhibitors and Facilitators of Peace Making
Eran Halperin
3. Fox News and American Politics
How One Channel Shapes American Politics and Society
Dan Cassino
FOX NEWS AND
AMERICAN POLITICS
How One Channel Shapes
American Politics and Society
Dan Cassino
First published 2016
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2016 Taylor & Francis
The right of Dan Cassino to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Cassino, Dan, 1980- author.
Title: Fox News and American politics : how one channel shapes American politics and society / Dan Cassino.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2016. | Series: Routledge studies in political psychology ; 3 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015043058 | ISBN 9781138900103 (hbk) | ISBN 9781138900127 (pbk)
Subjects: LCSH: Fox News. | Television and politicsUnited States. | Television broadcasting of newsUnited States.
Classification: LCC PN4888.T4 C37 2016 | DDC 070.4/30973dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015043058
ISBN: 978-1-138-90010-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-90012-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-70748-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo Std
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
Over the course of the last 20 years, the American news media has undergone rapid and entirely transformative change, and its only now that science can start to describe the effects this change has had on American politics and society. The clearest example of the change in how news is presented and consumed in America comes from Fox News, a channel which has found enormous ratings success while presenting a consistent ideological viewpoint. While there has been a great deal of hand-wringing about what effect Fox News may be having on the American political system a recent bestseller about the channel notes in the title that Fox has divided a country there has been relatively little scientific analysis of the effects that Fox has had on actual Americans, their attitudes, and their behavior in real elections. This book moves beyond past work, to show how what is said on Fox News directly impacts Presidential elections, the Republican Presidential primary, campaign contributions, the political knowledge of the American public, and the social views and behaviors of Americans.
Unlike most of the books written about Fox News, this is a work of social science. Whether the effects Fox News has on politics and society are good or bad is beyond the scope of this work. Since 1998, Fox News has called itself the most powerful name in news, and the purpose of this book is to show exactly how this power has played out. As the later chapters show, the effects of Fox coverage on American politics are enormous. One day of positive coverage of the President, for instance, can increase his approval rating by as much as a full percentage point. Fox coverage is also somewhat responsible for the radical swings in support between a large number of candidates in the 2012 Republican primary, and is one of the major factors driving campaign contributions, especially to lower-tier candidates. For these lower-tier candidates, a single positive mention on Fox was worth more than $20,000 in increased contributions over the following few days, with most of it coming from small donors. Media coverage shapes the general election, too: while campaign events such as the debates are often thought to have a huge effect on the race, the results here show that its not the events that matter, but the coverage of those events in the media that pushes voters to one side or the other. On the individual level, watching Fox leads many viewers to concentrate their attention on a small subset of issues that arent frequently discussed in other outlets, leading them to do worse in answering political knowledge questions than they would if they werent watching any news at all. Those viewers are also much more likely to think that President Obama is not a citizen, that the US found weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq, and that global warming is a hoax. These effects go beyond political attitudes and behaviors as well: discussions of gun control on Fox increase the number of gun sales in the United States, with effect sizes into the hundreds of thousands per month.
