Mary Jackson Pitts, Ph.D.
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Mary Jackson Pitts, Ph.D.
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Abstract Example Citation: Kiousis, S. (2003) Job approval and favorability: The impact of media attention to the Monica Lewinsky scandal and public opinion of president Bill Clinton, Mass Communication and Society, 6(4), 435-451. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine if public opinion diverges in regard to favorability and job approval when media attention is given to scandal rather than policy. Hypothesis or Research Questions Hypotheses 1: Media attention to the Monica Lewinsky scandal will be more strongly correlated to perceived favorability than job approval. H2a: Media coverage will be correlated to perceived job approval of the president when controlling for time and economic variables. H2b: Media coverage will be correlated to perceived favorability of the president when controlling for time and economic variables. Methodology: The study was based upon the mass communication and political science theories of agenda setting and priming. The study utilized a longitudinal time-lagged research design and examined the impact of media on two aspects of public opinion - job performance and personal assessment. A content analysis of New York Times newspapers and ABC World News Tonight broadcasts served to gauge media attention to the scandal. National polls were used for the job approval and favorability ratings. Control variables were time and economic factors. A 6 week time lag was utilized i.e. media coverage was tracked up to weeks prior to public opinion polls between January 19 (when the scandal broke as major news) and November 1, 1998 (when election coverage predominated). To test hypothesis 1, media coverage was correlated with public opinion at the various time lags and Fisher's r -to -z transformation was used to gauge the strength or correlations between media coverage and favorability and job approval. For Hypotheses 2a and 2b, partial correlations assessed media attention in relation to public evaluations of the president. Results: Hypothesis 1 predicted that media coverage would correlate more strongly with favorability that job approval and this was confirmed. Hypotheses 2a (job approval) and 2b (perceived favorability) anticipated that relations between media coverage and public evaluations would be strong. 2a was not supported but 2b was supported; media coverage is strongly connected in terms of emotional-personal evaluations but not cognitive-performance ones. The study recommends further study of the distinction between favorability and job approval in regard to impact of media. Comments: More study is needed to determine if the public really does separate their opinion of personal matters and public policy in regard to public officials. Additionally, studies would have to be made on someone who is not as charismatic as Bill Clinton and during a scandal that was not as politically charged as the Monica Lewinsky affair.
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