Videomalaise

[Grant Barrett]

Came across "virtual circle" but more interesting is "video malaise." From the Scout
Report.

 _A Virtuous Circle: Political Communications in Post-Industrial
Democracies_ [.pdf]
http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/people/pnorris/AVirtuous/Chapter14.pdf

The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University has
posted the complete draft text of this study of the state of the
media in a technological age by Harvard Scholar Pippa Norris.
Norris's unconventional thesis is that, contrary to the conclusions
of many public intellectuals and academics, the dramatic changes in
the forms of journalism in the last 20 years have not created a civic
culture of cynicism, sensationalism, and "videomalaise." Drawing
heavily on public opinion datasets and statistics about media use,
Norris, in readable and engaging prose, makes the case that, while
the profile of the media has significantly changed in post-industrial
democracies, they are still serving a democratic process: that is,
"public attention to the news media gradually reinforces civic
engagement, just as civic engagement strengthens attention to the
media." The study is scheduled for publication by Cambridge
University Press in the Fall of 2000. Note: figures and tables appear
at the end of each chapter in this online version. [DC]