Reciprocal Effects of Mass Media

Course type: Corso per dottorandi
Value in ECTS: 1.5

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Dates: 15-16 December 2011, 14h

15 December 2011, 9 am to 1 pm; 2pm to 5 pm, Aula 351
16 December 2011, 9 am to 1 pm; 2pm to 5 pm, Aula 351

Reciprocal effects are defined as effects of media coverage on protagonists of the coverage and distinguished from the effects on bystanders. The seminar will be based on my article the same title published in 2007 in the Harvard Journal on Press/Politics, some studies mentioned there and some studies which have recently been published. Among these studies are surveys of
- politicians (Germany, Israel, Canada)
- prosecutors and judges (Germany)
whose media influenced decisions might have far reaching consequences for other people (indirect effects)

Main topics will be
- differences between direct effects on protagonists and indirect effects on other
people
- differences between the mass of bystanders and the minority of protagonists (use of
relevant media coverage, effects of coverage on emotions and cognitions)
- correlations between emotions, observations (effect on friends etc.), speculations
(third-person effects), behaviour
- theoretical and practical relevance of indirect effects.

Students should read the relevant articles and discuss - among others - three basic questions:
1. What is the social (or political, economical etc.) relevance of effects on small numbers of protagonists?
2. Why have the indirect effects of media coverage been widely neglected?
3. How can the direct effects on protagonists been analyzed? This is especially important because in the internet an increasing number of persons become protagonists of public comments in social networks.

List of Literature

Basic Texts
Davison, W. Phillips (1983): The Third-Person Effect in Communication. In: Public Opinion Quarterly, 47, pp.1-15

Kepplinger, Hans Mathias (2007): Reciprocal Effects: Towards a Theory of Mass Media Effects on Decision Makers. In: The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 12, pp.3-23

Case Studies
Kepplinger, Hans Mathias / Zerback, Thomas (2011): The Perceptual and Behavioral Components of the Third-Person Effect. (Manuscript)

Kepplinger, Hans Mathias / Glaab, Sonja (2007): Reciprocal Effects of Negative Presys Reports. In: European Journal of Communication, 22, pp. 337-354

Pritchard, David (1986): Homicide and Bargained Justice: The Agenda-Setting Effect of Crime News on Prosecutors. In: Public Opinion Quarterly 59, pp. 143-159

Wood, Dan B. & Peake, Jeffrey S. (1998): The Dynamics of Foreign Policy Agenda Setting. In: American Political Science Review 92, pp. 173-184

Cook, Fay Lomax et al. (1983): Media and Agenda Setting: Effects on the Public, Interest Group Leaders, Policy Makers, and Policy. In: Public Opinion Quarterly 47, pp. 16-35

Cohen, Jonathan, Tsfati, Yariv & Shaefer, Tamir (2008): The Inffluence of Presumed Media Influence in Politics. Do Politcian´ Perceptions of Media Power Matter? In: Public Opinion Quarterly 72, pp. 331- 244.