Think about him this way: Priming function of television news and the public`s evaluation of the president in South Korea.

Abstract

This study examines the priming function of news media, which refers to the media effect on the standards by which the public evaluates political figures. Linking survey data to an analysis of issue coverage, more specifically, we look into whether television news in South Korea influences the way citizens evaluate the president. Our data provided considerable support for the idea that the media can shape the standards by which presidents are judged. There was a close correspondence between prominent issues in television news and important dimensions of presidential evaluation among the respondents. We also found that heavy viewers were responding more quickly, than light viewers, to the changes in prominent issues in the media. Heavy viewers evaluated the president in terms of topics emphasized in the media most recently, whereas light viewers lagged somewhat behind in keeping up with recent issues. Taken together, we conclude that the media, by emphasizing or de-emphasizing certain issues in their news coverage, may hint the audience "what is important to think about" when making a political judgment.