Media Coverage Influences Value of Presidential Debates for Viewers, Study Finds
Not that this is news to any of you here.
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/postdebate.htm
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The presidential debates offer viewers a lot of substance about the issues of the campaign -- but postdebate media coverage can undermine the value they have for voters, a new study suggests.
Results showed that postdebate coverage that focused on the debate as a competition led viewers to think less about policy issues. By comparison, coverage that focused on the substance of the discussion increased the likelihood that viewers would come away with specific thoughts about candidates’ policy proposals.
The researchers conducted two different studies in which young Americans viewed actual clips from the 2004 and 2008 presidential debates and then read media coverage of the debate.
Afterward, the researchers asked the viewers to describe the debate as they would to a friend. From these descriptions, the researchers were able to tell how the media coverage affected what viewers chose to focus on in reflecting back on the debates.