Media Dialogue: Perceiving and Addressing Community Problems

Abstract

Scholars have long debated the role of media and discussion in encouraging tolerance and engagement in politics and community. Theories range from the dismissal of effects to the assertion of powerful influences, and from claims of "media malaise" to the promise of "virtuous circles." Of course, results from research exploring these issues vary by context and methods of study. Yet most past research is plagued by at least 1 of 2 methodological weaknesses: the difficulty of assessing causality in cross-sectional survey designs and/or of attributing the observed effects to information gains rather than to the deliberative process itself. Acknowledging these weaknesses, we rely on data from a quasi-experimental study examining a media dialogue effort. In this study, randomly selected public television members and partners were recruited into various forms of "real world" exposure and discussion about the documentary film Two Towns of Jasper. This documentary highlights the divisions in Jasper, Texas following the racial killing of James Byrd, Jr., who was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck by 3 White men. Controlling for a wide range of preexisting differences, including past political discussion and participation, we compared individuals who had different experiences of the intervention. Results reveal that media consumption was positively related with willingness to discuss the issue of race and participate politically around this issue. Above and beyond media consumption, participation in a heterogeneous citizen's forum that discussed the documentary contributed to awareness of racism, as well as increased willingness to further discuss and participate on this issue. This article highlights the importance of citizen dialogue in combination with media consumption for engagement, and suggests an alterative to forums such as citizen juries, study circles, and deliberative polls.