110 likes | 302 Views
Koreans’ Perception of Former S. Korean President Roh’s Press Relation. COMM 5323 April 29, 2009 Hyunjung Kim. Introduction. Introduction. Unstable political status of the former S. Korea President Roh
E N D
Koreans’ Perception of Former S. Korean President Roh’sPress Relation COMM 5323 April 29, 2009 Hyunjung Kim
Introduction • Unstable political status of the former S. Korea President Roh • Media effect perspective: Negative media coverage of Roh affected the public attitude toward him (Ju, 2005). • RQ: How does the media function along with audiences’ personal backgrounds and viewpoints when they formulate their position or attitudes toward a political event or figure?
Research Context • Cho-Joong-Dong: Three conservative major newspapers comprise more than 70% of the NP market in Korea, political connection with conservative elite groups • Roh’s “War on the Press”: Adversarial relationship with the press, particularly Cho-Joong-Dong
Audience Analysis • Media contents are perceived and interpreted from the perspective of audiences • audiences as “active meaning-makers” (Schrøder & Phillips, 2007)
Methods • 8 interviews of Koreans (3 students, 5 non-students) • Interview places: Library conference room, interviewee’s home, OU memorial union, Korean restaurant, indoor soccer field
Findings • Korean news consumption pattern • Main News Source: Internet for 30s or under vs. Print newspapers and TV for older (limited by availability) • Selective exposure: Selectivity in choosing and reading specific newspapers which fit their own preexisting views even when all the newspapers are available for free on the Internet. Ex) Hangyoreh (progressive NP) subscribers barely read Chosun Ilbo (conservative NP) online.
Findings • Perception of Roh and Cho-Joong-Dong • Pro-Roh/Neutral: “They lack fairness or neutrality… Chosun always speaks ill of Roh.” But he never read the NP. Then, how is he so sure about that? Because Roh said so. • Anti-Roh: No clear perception of progressive/ conservative media structure. Maybe because of no exposure to progressive online NPs. • Who is responsible? Roh, but in different meaning… • Pro-Roh: Roh was not friendly to Cho-Joong-Dong for righteous reasons • Anti-Roh: Roh suppressed the press.
Findings • Regarding Impeachment • Consensus that it was wrong although most did not recall the exact situation • Influence of Confucianism: A king is a destined position and should be respected whatsoever like a parent • “It was the opposition party that tried to drag down Roh …politicians always do power struggles…But, people ignored Roh…that’s why it happened” • Influence of the press: NPs were not perceived as powerful political institutions but information sources produced by politically neutral journalists.
Discussion • Political orientation was the common factor that influences views on Roh’s press relations and NP choice. → Not one-way influence from media to audiences’ views. • Influence of media use • Conservative NP readers (without regular use of online news) did not acknowledge the adversarial relationship between Roh and Cho-Joong-Dong, while conservative NP readers who read online news recognized it. → Diversified media use leads to varied views.
Discussion • Consensus on Impeachment incident: “It was wrong” →Influence of media on individuals’ opinion is minimized when an issue is so obvious that there is no need for further information or deliberation. • Future research with various issues would be helpful to see how other individual factors interact with media influence in formulating public opinion.