Media effects on democratic orientations a case study in Taiwan

[[abstract]]This study examines media impact on resocialization toward democracy after democratic political reform in Taiwan. The research questions are: How do mass media influence the shared understanding of democratic norms? How is the process of relearning or re-internalization toward democracy shaped by mass media? How does mass media agenda-setting and framing influence our cognition and anitudes toward democracy? We expect there will be different effects for television and newspapers, between mainstream media and the alternative media, between different information processing strategies, and between different slanted newspapers. A telephone survey (n = 800) was conducted to empirically test the hypotheses. Results show that people with an active information processing strategy have the competence to understand politics, perceive themselves as able to exercise influence over government policies, and value democracy under a competitive party system more than stability under one party system. A selective information processing strategy was found to be negatively correlated with general support for democracy only. For those selectively processing, politics is too complicated to understand and conflicts among political parties are seen as doing no good to the nation. Television and newspaper exposure in this study was found to induce a construction of conservative cognition for the audience. Television exposure was positively rclalcd to politicallrusl and negatively relaled to polilicallolerance.Newspaper exposure was negatively correlated with general support for democracy. Newspaper attention is a distinct construct from newspaper exposure. The former contributed significant positive effects to general support for democracy and support for a competitive party system. Compared with mainstream media, alternative media were less likely to have significant influence. They had impact on support for democracy, political efficacy, and political tolerance. Only DPP underground radio contributed positively to political efficacy and politi~al tolerance. However, the effect of underground radio use on democratic orientations was subject to its connections with opposition parties. With the New Party adherents, in contrast to those of the DPP, the effects of NP underground radio were negative to political tolerance. The Freedom Times, with a predisposition toward the DPP, was more likely to be associated negatively with political trust of the existing government and associate positively with support for a competitive party system and political tolerance. The United Daily, slanted toward the government, was more likely to be associated negatively with support for a competitive party system and political tolerance. The interaction results show respondents were not uniformly and overwhelmingly influenced by mass media. Apparently, selective mechanisms were working; however, the media still exert a subtle, persistent influence in defining the scope of respectable political discourse, channeling public attention in directions that are supportive of their affiliated parties -- mass media are used intentionally and seem effective to reinforce certain political beliefs.[[notice]]補正完