The Voice of the People in the News: A Content Analysis of Public Opinion Displays in Routine and Election News

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 2078-2095
Author(s):  
Kathleen Beckers
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
The People ◽  
Election News ◽  
The Voice

scholarly journals Challenging Official Propaganda? Public Opinion Leaders on Sina Weibo

2016 ◽  
Vol 225 ◽  
pp. 122-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Y. M. Nip ◽  
King-wa Fu
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Opinion Leadership ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Sina Weibo ◽  
Secondary Role ◽  
The People ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
Media Organizations ◽  
The Voice

AbstractThis article examines the prominence of various user categories as opinion leaders, defined as initiators, agenda setters or disseminators, in 29 corruption cases exposed on Sina Weibo. It finds that ordinary citizens made up the largest category of initiators but that their power of opinion leadership was limited as they had to rely on media organizations to spread news about the cases. News organizations and online media were the main opinion leaders. Government and Party bodies initiated a fair number of cases and, despite not being strong agenda setters or disseminators, were able to dominate public opinion owing to the fact that news organizations and online media mainly published official announcements about the cases. Media organizations also played a secondary role as the voice of the people. While individuals from some other user categories were able to become prominent opinion leaders, news workers are likely to be the most promising user category to challenge official propaganda.

‘The cry of the people is the voice of God’

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Swann
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
French Population ◽  
The People ◽  
The Voice ◽  
High Politics

Disgrace was in many ways synonymous with the court and the lives and careers of ministers and courtiers. Yet it should not be seen as separate from the French population as a whole. This chapter uses examples of individual or corporate disgrace to explore how the wider public interacted with high politics, looking at the role of, amongst others, caricature, ballads, jokes, placards, and engravings as well as riots and popular rituals as expressions of opinion on the affairs of the day. Despite its pretensions to absolute authority, the crown was sensitive to public opinion and it too was anxious to present its version of events in what was a much livelier and vibrant political culture than the theoreticians of absolute monarchy might lead us to believe.

The Voice of the People: Public Opinion & Democracy.

1996 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 534
Author(s):  
Doris A. Graber ◽  
James S. Fishkin
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
The People ◽  
The Voice

Quirky Neighbors or the Cult Next-Door?

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-211
Author(s):  
Bernard Doherty
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Political Involvement ◽  
Television Programs ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Media Transformation

Beginning in 2005 the tiny Christian sect then known as the Exclusive Brethren suddenly underwent a media transformation from a virtually unknown or ignored group of quirky and old-fashioned Protestant sectarians to being touted as “Australia’s biggest cult” by tabloid television programs. This explosion of controversy came on the heels of media revelations about the involvement of Brethren members in providing financial donations to conservative political causes across the globe and a snowballing effect in response which brought forth a number of ex-members eager to expose their former group. This article looks at how this media transformation has been received by the wider Australian public. By studying the hitherto little utilized data contained in readers’ letters to Australia’s three mainstream broadsheet newspapers this article identifies which events or undertakings had the most impact on public perceptions of the Exclusive Brethren and which specific articles and issues struck the most responsive chord with readers. This content analysis found that Australian public opinion toward the Exclusive Brethren, while on the whole negative, was more indicative of their political involvement than their beliefs. The study also found that prior to what I call “The Brethren Controversy” the Exclusive Brethren had maintained a high degree of “sectarian tension” in Australia for almost four decades with little public outcry or media vilification.

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