Media Effects on Public Opinion about a Newspaper Strike

Abstract

This study examines antecedents of public involvement in and support for a strike by newspaper journalists in a two-newspaper metropolitan area. Specifically, we focus on the role that perceptions of journalists and the news media, as well as mediated and direct experience, play in shaping involvement and support for the strike. Using data from a probability sample of 456 respondents, we find differential effects of the specific newspaper read by respondents as well as attention paid to newspaper and television news. Results indicate that direct experience, attention to newspaper news, and knowledge of local politics have an impact on strike involvement. Perceptions of news organizations as profit-driven and views of local media drive perceptions of the legitimacy of striking journalists' concerns.As a key democratic institution, the news media perform crucial functions in America today, including surveying and analyzing the political environment for audience members, providing a platform for political debate, and acting as a watchdog against governmental abuse and corruption.'As another democratic institution, labor unions perform similar advocacy and empowerment functions for workers. StepanNorris states that "the raison d'etre of labor unions is to democratize labor relations, that is, to give ordinary workers a voice in determining the conditions that shape their work lives."2 Specifically, organized labor has secured better wages and benefits and stronger protection for workers against management abuses3While one body of research has focused on journalists and the news media, and another on unions, little research has intersected to explore journalists in their roles as union members. Against this backdrop, we examine how public support for journalists as union members is influenced by perceptions of the news media and journalists themselves. Specifically, we use survey data collected in the context of a newspaper strike to explore the impact of such perceptions.

Social Networks and Strike Participation: A Dynamic Analysis of the Hollywood Writers Strike

“…In addition to this, studies show that individuals are more likely to support strikes when it happens in sectors that they are familiar with, and if they have a friend or acquaintance in the same sector (Moy et al . 2003). It is not likely that many people know a Hollywood writer in person, but many people deeply care about the characters, the movies and TV shows created by the Hollywood writers.…”

“…Workers in many sectors do not have the same skills to communicate their grievances and justify their demands; therefore, the exportability of certain aspects of self-organizing models to non-creative sectors is limited. In addition to this, studies show that individuals are more likely to support strikes when it happens in sectors that they are familiar with, and if they have a friend or acquaintance in the same sector (Moy et al 2003). It is not likely that many people know a Hollywood writer in person, but many people deeply care about the characters, the movies and TV shows created by the Hollywood writers.…”

Political control and journalist protests in Spanish public media in electoral campaigns: A decade of conflict

“…It is possible to find some studies that analyse journalists' strikes, for example how citizens' identify with newspaper strikes (Moy, McCoy, Spratt and McCluskey 2003) and different protests in North America (Demers 2006, Neilson 2012, Cohen 2014, but none of them is involved with protests against electoral laws.…”

Ethical Issues in the Iran's Sport Media: Perceptions ‎of National Team Coaches

“…The media plays a significant role in today،s world. Of importance is its effect on the general perception within a society‫‬and the provision of a public forum for debate about important social issues (1).…”

“…These universally accepted ethical codes speak directly to items such as conflicts of interest (2), honesty (3), receiving gifts, newsgathering methods (4) , fairness (5), privacy (1,6); moonlighting and news sources and plagiarism (7,8).…”