Two trends have marked the development of U.S. cable television news in recent years: a blurring of hard and soft news and an increase in overt partisanship. This paper reports the results of 2 studies that provide insight into the nature and impact of these trends. The first study analyzes national survey data to identify the factors that lead political partisans to choose particular cable television news networks and programs. The second study employs experimental methods to demonstrate how viewers’ partisan leanings influence their perceptions of content from CNN, Fox News, and The Daily Show. We found evidence of a relative hostile media phenomenon, in which partisans perceive more bias in programs that do not align with their own political perspective. Furthermore, the results indicate that partisanship informs viewers’ perceptions of news content as interesting and informative.

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Although the study of police-civilian relations has recently entered the intergroup communication arena, there are no studies of actual interactions between these social categories. In part to rectify that stark omission and guided by communication accommodation theory, 313 randomly sampled video recordings from police cars on traffic stops in Cincinnati, Ohio were content analyzed. The study revealed 3 key differences as a function of the officers' and drivers' races: (a) Black drivers were more likely to experience extensive policing during the stop; (b) the communication quality of White drivers was, on average, more positive than that of the Black drivers; and (c) officers' communication behavior was more positive when the officer and driver were of the same race. These findings are consistent with public opinion data and their implications for theory are discussed.

Constructing a sexual identity is one of the major developmental tasks of adolescence. Applying the Media Practice Model, this study retrospectively examines how self-identifying lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals used media during the commencement of the coming-out process and the effects of media use during this pivotal time of development. Results indicate that the Internet plays a critical role in the development of LGB sexual identities. Heavy users of media during the coming-out process are significantly less likely to communicate openly with their families later in life. However, individuals' reports of loneliness and self-esteem are not affected. Conclusions suggest that mediated forms of communication can be beneficial for sexual exploration among LGB individuals.Keywords Sexual orientation Á Adolescent development Á Media effects Á Family communication Understanding and appreciating one's own sexuality can be an arduous process creating grief and complications for many adolescents. The case is especially true for individuals who realize their sexuality may not fit societal norms. Although adolescents spend a significant amount of time talking about sex and exploring sex in the media (Savin-Williams and Diamond 2004), using the media during sexual exploration could have consequences on the family structure. Research has systematically explored the ways in which family communication is related to media use (Wilson 2004), and how lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) adolescents utilize family communication when dealing with their sexuality (Feldman and Rosenthal 2002). Previous research has not, however, analyzed how each of these

Children between the ages of 9 and 12-commonly called tweens-are one of the fastest growing audiences for YouTube content. The current study explores how tweens are watching YouTube and the nature of their parasocial relationships and wishful identification with their favorite YouTube personalities. Results show that tweens identified gender-congruent YouTubers as their favorite. Moreover, tweens perceived male and female YouTubers to have different attributes. For instance, male YouTubers were rated as more violent than female YouTubers, and female YouTubers were rated as more attractive and popular than male YouTubers. Gender also played a role in attachment patterns. Tween boys' wishful identification was predicted by YouTubers who were violent and funny and their parasocial relationships were predicted by YouTubers who were funny, successful, and attractive. Meanwhile, tween girls' wishful identification was predicted by YouTubers' who were funny, and their parasocial relationships were predicted by YouTubers' who were funny and popular. Results are discussed in terms of gender socialization theory.