Relationship of media usage to attitudes toward police

ABSTRACT

The present study examined the contribution of exposure to entertainment and news media to attitudes toward police. Using a survey of young adults (N = 321), various media repertoires as well as other contributory variables, such as race and political affiliation, were regressed on theoretically derived attitudes toward police. Significant major predictor variables included race (African Americans), political point of view (liberal) and liberal media news outlets such as CNN and news satire shows (“The Daily Show”), all significantly associated with negative attitudes toward police. More positive associations were found for exposure to mainstream local and national TV news outlets. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Attitudes toward police
• media usage
• media repertoires
• cultivation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jack Glascock

Jack Glascock (Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1996) was an associate professor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University.