How unique is the perspective of television? A field experiment on the perception of a campaign event by participants and television viewers

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Abstract
The present study compares how people perceive a political event as a participant and as a television viewer of the same event. More than any other medium, television can convey to its audience the illusion of being an eyewitness of an event. At the same time, due to its specific presentation techniques, television has a particular capability of creating impressions of an event that may differ considerably from the impression created by the real event. We have investigated the impact of television on the perception of reality from two perspectives. First, we have compared the perceptions of television viewers with the perceptions of actual participants. Second, we have compared the perceptions created by different versions of television broadcasts. In a field experiment, 146 subjects were randomly assigned to 6 different experimental conditions. Two groups attended a campaign speech by Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Four groups watched different television versions of this event. We found that the difference between direct and mediated perceptions of the same event increases as television condenses the event and evaluates it through positive or negative visual comments.

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