Soft News Goes to War

"Baum marshals an impressive body of research data to support his thesis, and he arranges it in a highly readable manner."--Choice "Soft News Goes to War is an important work. Prior to its publication, many researchers had speculated about the political consequences of soft news, but none had provided the rigorously derived conclusions that Baum does... [Readers] will find intriguing and provocative insights to reward them."--Paul R. Brewer, Perspectives on Political Science "[O]ne of the better political communication books of recent years... [T]his book will open the eyes of scholars and practitioners alike to the new world of public communication. Soft News Goes to War is a must read for those interested in the media, public opinion, and foreign policy."--Thomas E. Patterson, Political Science Quarterly "Presenting an important and carefully researched analysis, this timely book documents why political communication research can no longer ignore entertainment programming as an important source of political information."--Scott L. Althaus, Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics "Baum's study of 'soft news' is comprehensive... It is rare to see a combination of use-, content-, and effects-based research in a single work, and the author should be applauded for such efforts."--R. Lance Holbert, Public Opinion Quarterly "Baum presents a detailed theoretical model that serves as a foundation for his study of soft news. It is important that future research in this area use Baum's model as a foundation from which to bring greater sophistication (relative to greater complexity) in outlining the processes that generate soft news effects."--R. Lance Holbert, Public Opinion Quarterly "Baum sets us off on some productive paths for more research in the area. The book is well written, cautious, and generally impressive. I recommend it highly for all students of contemporary political communication and public opinion."--Susan Herbst, Political Communication

Matthew A. Baum is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Communications at the University of California, Los Angeles.

PREFACE ix CHAPTER ONE: War and Entertainment 1 Appendix. Defining "Attentiveness" 15 CHAPTER TWO: Soft News and the Accidentally Attentive Public 18 Appendix. Locating Changes in Cognitive Costs and Benefits 53 CHAPTER THREE: "I Heard It on Oprah" 57 Appendix. Content Analysis Coding Form 95 CHAPTER FOUR: Bringing War to the Masses 97 Appendix 1. On Using Opinionation as an Indicator of Attentiveness 133 Appendix 2. Variable Definitions 138 Appendix 3. Statistical Tables 144 CHAPTER FIVE: Tuning Out the World Isn't as Easy as It Used to Be 156 Appendix 1. Data Sources and Variable Definitions 195 Appendix 2. Testing for Floor and Ceiling Effects 200 Appendix 3. Comparing Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf War 202 Appendix 4. Statistical Tables 204 CHAPTER SIX: Rallying Round the Water Cooler 212 Appendix 1. Variable Definitions 223 Appendix 2. Statistical Tables 225 CHAPTER SEVEN: Soft News and World Views: Foreign Policy Attitudes of the Inattentive Public 229 Appendix. Statistical Tables 259 CHAPTER EIGHT: Soft News, Public Opinion, and American Foreign Policy: The Good, the Bad, and the Merely Entertaining 269 Appendix. Statistical Tables 292 NOTES 295 REFERENCES 330 INDEX 345