Summary
Contents
Subject index
Public opinion theory and research are becoming increasingly significant in modern societies as people’s attitudes and behaviors become ever more volatile and opinion poll data becomes ever more readily available. This major new Handbook is the first to bring together into one volume the whole field of public opinion theory, research methodology, and the political and social embeddedness of polls in modern societies. It comprehensively maps out the state-of-the-art in contemporary scholarship on these topics.
The News as a Reflection of Public Opinion
The News as a Reflection of Public Opinion
‘Public opinions must be organized for the press if they are to be sound, not by the press as is the case today.’ The US journalist Walter Lippmann (1922, p. 19) thus stated what he believed was a defective tendency in the practice of democracy. Since then, the tendency has intensified. The news media are no longer asked just to keep an eye out for wrongdoing and to help keep citizens abreast of public affairs. They are expected also to take a lead role in organizing public debate—a function that traditionally has been the responsibility of political organizations and institutions.
Can the media carry this burden? Can they organize public opinion ...
- Loading...
