Communication and Citizenship: Mapping the Political Effects of Infotainment

Political candidates and citizens alike have been turning to nontraditional, “softer” sources of political information such as late-night comedy and daytime talk shows. This is particularly true during presidential elections, when candidates make guest appearances to reach audience members who may or may not be politically engaged, and when discussion of political affairs becomes more prominent. What are the ef-fects of consuming such media content? Using data from the 2000 National Annen-berg Election Survey, we examine the effects of watching late-night comedy shows and candidates’appearances on Oprah on various forms of citizenship. Results indi-cate that watching political infotainment can enhance political engagement, but not for all sectors of the electorate and not all the time. Exposure to late-night comedy and political content on Oprah was associated with increased levels of participation. However, for late-night comedy viewing, the positive association between exposure and 2 criterion variables — intent to vote and interpersonal political discussion — was significantly more pronounced among political sophisticates. A civically engaged electorate participating in a vibrant public sphere is the main-stay of any democratic system. By a number of accounts, however, the American public falls far short of such a standard. For decades, scholars have bemoaned de-clining rates of civic engagement, often blaming current levels of citizen compe-