Videomalaise Revisited: Media Exposure and Political Alienation in West Germany
- 1 March 1990
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in European Journal of Communication
- Vol. 5 (1) , 73-85
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323190005001005
Abstract
The concept of `videomalaise' was first used in America in the 1970s to describe the dual phenomenon of a loss of trust in political institutions and individuals' increasing reliance on television as a means of obtaining political information. Could it be that the particular features of political programming caused political malaise? Using West German survey data, the research presented here tests the validity of the videomalaise thesis. No connection was found between political malaise and the contents of political programming which leads to the conclusion that the videomalaise thesis is unwarranted. Instead, political alienation and low participation are related to the use made of entertainment content in both television and the press.Keywords
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