"Video malaise" revisited: Public trust in the media and government

Abstract

This article explores the "video-malaise" thesis, which asserts that a combination of negative political coverage by the press and exposure to the media lead to political cynicism at the grass roots. Data from the 1996 National Election Study and a 1997 Pew Research Center poll show that the traditional video-malaise notion needs to be revised. Jaundiced views of government and of the media co-vary, raising the possibility that the public views both government and the media in the same vein.