Framing Responsibility for Political Issues
- 1 July 1996
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
- Vol. 546 (1) , 59-70
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716296546001006
Abstract
This article examines the influence of television news on viewers' attributions of responsibility for political issues. Television's systematic reliance on episodic as opposed to thematic depictions of political life elicits individualistic attributions of responsibility for national problems such as poverty and terrorism. These attributions emphasize the actions of private rather than governmental actors. By obscuring the connections between political problems and the actions or inactions of political leaders, television news trivializes political discourse and weakens the accountability of elected officials.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Is Anyone Responsible?Published by University of Chicago Press ,1991