Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This is an experimental study looking at how candidate appearances on late night television talk shows affect the relative saliency of image considerations in candidate evaluations and vote choices.

Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: This paper challenges the assumption, advanced in recent survey data published by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, that young audiences are abandoning traditional news as a source of election information in favor of late-night comedy programs. Instead, we offer evidence, consistent with Baum’s “gateway” hypothesis (2003), that exposure to late-night comedy increases attention paid to the presidential campaign in national network and cable news. Insofar as campaign news provides the context for the political jokes featured in late-night comedy monologues, late-night television appears to serve a socializing function, such that it motivates viewers to pay more focused attention to the campaign in hard news sources—perhaps so that they feel better equipped to enjoy the comedy. This analysis uses data collected via the National Annenberg Election Survey (NAES) during the 2004 presidential primary season, between October 30, 2003 and June 4, 2004. As hypothesized, cross-sectional results demonstrate that viewers of late-night comedy pay more attention to the campaign in national and network cable news than non-viewers, controlling for a variety of factors. Time series analysis also reveals that the rate of increase in hard news attention over the course of the primary season is greater for viewers of late-night comedy than for non-viewers.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper will explore how television comedy shows (Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, the Tonight Show and the Late Show) affected the 2008 Presidential Election Race. Due to the writers strike these shows were dark during the early primary races – leaving an intriguing void in the media coverage of the race. After the strike was settled, the coverage of the race seemed to change as did popular perception of the candidates. Saturday Night Live is getting high ratings based on its political skits and candidates seek out any opportunity to be a guest on a nightly show. Studies have shown that younger voters are getting their news more from Jon Stewart than from Brian Williams which means that these sketches and appearances have a great effect on how the public views the candidates and the election. This paper intends to consider these effects in the hopes of determining how much of an impact these shows have on the election and its results

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: No longer a novelty in America’s media landscape, infotainment has become fully integrated into contemporary mediated politics. Infotainment extends Americans’ traditional venues of newspaper, radio news, and television news to include media outlets that are grounded in entertainment values, yet still serve as a source of political information, and in some cases, political mobilization. Given the critical role of infotainment in contemporary politics, this study addresses the effects of appearances on late-night comedy during the 2000 presidential campaign and their ability to prime audience members’ evaluations of these candidates. Findings from the 2000 National Annenberg Election Study (N=10,308) indicate that evaluations of candidates are based in part on respondents' sociodemographics, perceptions of candidates to handle certain issues, and their character traits. Although there was no main effect of watching late-night comedy on evaluations of candidates, interaction effects between late-night comedy and character traits emerged and are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Despite the importance of political knowledge for sound democratic decision-making, the public’s ignorance has been alarming. Communication scholars point out citizens’ learning from news media is not effective due to a selective preference for particular types of news media. Recently, some scholars suggest democratic education through soft news or political entertainment could be effective. However, other scholars are concerned that entertainment-types of media are harmful for the democratic process. This meta-analytic study examines detailed political knowledge items related to the learning capability of entertainment program (e.g., the late-night comedy show) based on the IRT (i.e. Item Response Theory). Using 43 political knowledge items—eight items are dropped after examination—measured in 2004 presidential election, we find late-night comedy may increase political knowledge (Baum’s hypothesis), but its learning effect is limited to easy or moderately difficult items. The theoretical implications of entertainment programs for democracy and practical suggestions for studies of entertainment media effects are discussed based on the findings.