Citation

Saito S. Int. J. Jpn. Sociol. 2008; 17(1): 101-113.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1475-6781.2008.00114.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In many democratic societies, including Japan, political alienation such as political cynicism or inefficacy is widespread among the general public. Some researchers argue that along with various other factors embedded in political systems, the mass media, particularly television, plays a crucial role in promoting or intensifying political alienation. Focusing on the influence of the media, this study examines whether television news induces political cynicism and inefficacy in Japan. Previous research has indicated that public and commercial broadcasts may have different impacts on the political attitude of the audience. Thus, this study predicts that the relationship between television news exposure and political alienation would be stronger among those who exclusively watch commercial news programs. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicate that among non-Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) news viewers, those who view television news more frequently are more likely to feel politically inefficacious, and that those who rely exclusively on television for political information are more likely to be politically cynical. However, negative influences associated with television reliance or television news viewing are not observed among the NHK news viewers, although positive influences are also not observed. Thus, according to the results, the “videomalaise” effect would be limited to certain viewers. This article discusses the implications of the findings and also suggests that more exclusive psychological explanations be examined for the videomalaise effect.