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.