African American Confidence in Media 1
Running Head: AFRICAN AMERICAN CONFIDENCE IN MEDIA
African American Confidence in Media:
Television Viewing, Income, Education and Political Affiliation
Joseph Gotti
Rutgers University-Camden
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to discover why African Americans have higher levels of confidence in the media than the rest of the country. It was hypothesized that factors such as income, education, political affiliation, and hours of TV watching all affect these higher levels of confidence. It was also hypothesized that even though confidence levels in the media have dropped over time, African American levels have stayed higher than the country as a whole. Results affirmed the hypotheses and led to interesting questions about why such factors affect confidence and the what could possibly happen in the future in regards to these findings.
African American Confidence in Media:
Television Viewing, Income, Education and Political Affiliation
Introduction
Public confidence in the media is very important because it reflects the nation's mindset as a whole. Much research has been done on the subject with many conflicting results. This paper will focus on one group, African Americans, because their attitudes stand out distinctly on the subject. According to research by Fred Bales (1986) African Americans watch more television than Caucasians and have more positive feelings toward the media (p. 285). Although the majority from both groups have a level of confidence somewhere in the middle, research data clearly suggests that African Americans have a higher level of confidence in the media than Caucasians (Bales, 1986, p. 286). This being the case, it becomes an interesting study to discover what factors lead to this difference in attitudes.
Cook and Gronke (2001) state that factors such as higher education, higher income, and moving from Democrat to Republican, all make one more prone to having less trust in the media (p. 15). This may help to explain why African Americans have more trust in the media than Caucasians, since on average African Americans are likely to be less educated, paid less, and more likely to be affiliated with the Democrats.
For the country as a whole, confidence in the media has dropped significantly over time. In fact, Geary (2005) states that in 2004 Gallup Pollsters found that news media credibility was at its lowest point in 30 years. It would be interesting to see how this significant drop in media confidence has affected African Americans. Has African American confidence dropped at the same rate as that of Caucasians so as to stay at a higher level? If this is so, what is the reason? Why do African Americans tend to have more confidence in the media than Caucasians? The hypothesis stands that the reason for these higher levels of confidence is because of factors such as higher amounts of television watching, lower income, lower education, and affiliations with the Democratic party. It is also hypothesized that African American levels of confidence in the media have stayed proportionately higher than that of Caucasians over time taking into account the overall drop in media confidence. Understanding the relationship between these factors and African American confidence may be an important insight into understanding what factors play a part in determining media confidence for the country as a whole.
Methods
All statistical information used in this research was obtained from the United States General Social Survey. A software package called Microcase was used to search through and sort the data.
Results
Levels of Confidence in Media (U.S. Overall)
Great Deal Only Some Hardly Any Total
197318.8%59.1%22.1%100%
197423.7%58.8%17.5%100%
197518.3%58.8%22.9%100%
197619.1%53.2%27.7%100%
197717.7%56.8%25.5%100%
197814.0%54.4%31.6%100%
198016.3%55.5%28.2%100%
198214.1%58.1%27.4%100%
198312.7%58.6%28.7%100%
198413.4%57.8%28.8%100%
198615.2%56.6%28.2%100%
198711.9%58.9%29.2%100%
198814.4%58.9%26.7%100%
198914.3%56.3%29.5%100%
199013.9%58.9%27.2%100%
199114.5%55.0%30.4%100%
199311.7%51.1%37.2%100%
19949.60%50.3%40.2%100%
199610.4%47.2%42.5%100%
199810.4%49.9%39.7%100%
200010.0%47.5%42.5%100%
20029.60%47.5%42.9%100%
200410.3%46.2%43.5%100%
As seen from the above data, in the U.S. as a whole, confidence in the media has plummeted over the decades. In 1973 18.8% of those surveyed claimed to have a “great deal” of confidence in the media compared to only 10.3% in 2004. An even more interesting statistic is the fact that in 1973 22.1% of those surveyed claimed that they had “hardly any” confidence in the media while in 2004 this number rose to a shocking 43.5% of those surveyed. These findings seem to be fairly consistent with previous findings. Clearly there has been a sharp drop in general media confidence over time.
African American Levels of Confidence in Media
Great Deal Only Some Hardly Any Total
197323.6%60.4%15.9%100%
197431.8%55.3%12.9%100%
197528.5%58.2%13.3%100%
197630.1%49.6%20.3%100%
197722.1%64.0%14.0%100%
197822.1%51.3%27.6%100%
198023.4%55.5%21.2%100%
198223.3%56.7%20.0%100%
198318.1%61.9%20.0%100%
198418.9%59.5%21.6%100%
198618.2%54.5%27.3%100%
198714.8%60.4%24.7%100%
198815.0%56.6%28.3%100%
198923.6%54.7%21.7%100%
19907.50%72.0%20.6%100%
199123.4%55.3%21.3%100%
199320.2%53.5%26.3%100%
199412.8%48.0%39.2%100%
199613.1%50.0%36.9%100%
199813.1%51.8%35.0%100%
200017.0%48.5%34.5%100%
200211.5%53.1%35.4%100%
200413.4%50.5%36.1%100%
The above table displays statistics for African American confidence in the media over time. Overall, the data clearly proves the hypothesis that African American levels of confidence have dropped over the decades along with the rest of the nation but have remained at a higher level than the country as a whole. In 1973 23.6% of African Americans claimed to have a “great deal” of confidence in the media compared to 13.4% in 2004. Though is is clear that there has been a drop in confidence, the 23.6% and 13.4% are still higher than the nation's 18.8% and 10.3%, respectively. Also, in 2004 a total of 36.1% of African Americans claimed to have “hardly any” confidence in the media compared to 43.5% of surveyors in the nation in general. Clearly this data points to the fact that even though African confidence in the media has declined, it is still higher than that of the overall nation.
The above graph attests to the fact that confidence in the media for African Americans and the U.S. overall has dropped over time. There appears to be a linear trend and the graph displays that African American confidence in the media has consistently been higher than the rest of the country except for in one year.
Television Confidence Levels in Relation to TV Watched,
Race, Income, Education & Political Affiliation
Great Deal Only Some Hardly Any Total
0-1 Hrs per Day(4491) 9.20% 46.6% 44.2% 100%
2-3 Hrs per Day(8430) 11.6% 56.0% 32.3% 100%
4+ Hrs per Day(5552) 19.7% 57.0% 23.2% 100%
White(26774) 13.3% 54.4% 32.4% 100%
Black (3725) 19.0% 55.1% 26.0% 100%
Income $1K-$14999(11183) 19.6% 54.5% 25.9% 100%
Income $15K-$24999(6093) 13.4% 56.6% 30.0% 100%
Income 25K & UP (11373) 8.70% 53.6% 37.8% 100%
Democrat (15734) 15.7% 55.5% 28.8% 100%
Independent (4236) 14.0% 52.8% 33.2% 100%
Republican(10921) 11.8% 53.6% 34.5% 100%
No HS Grad (8096) 21.7% 53.0% 25.3% 100%
HS Grad (10143) 13.8% 57.2% 29.1% 100%
College Educ(13155) 9.50% 53.2% 37.3% 100%
The above data relates confidence in the media to several major factors that may influence the overall tendency of African Americans to have higher levels of confidence in the media than the rest of the nation. The data clearly displays that those who watch more television are more likely to have a greater amount of confidence in the media. The data shows that out of those who watch only 0-1 Hours of TV per day 44.2% claim to have “hardly any” confidence in the media compared to only 23.2% of those who watch 4+ hours per day. At the same token, only 9.20% of those who watch 0-1 hours of TV per day claim to have a “great deal” of confidence in the media compared to the 19.7% who watch 4+ hours per day. When it comes to race, the data remains consistent with the hypothesis. African Americans tend to have more confidence in the media than Caucasians. While 13.3% of Caucasians claim to have a great deal of confidence in the media 19.0% of African Americans claim the same. A higher percentage of Caucasians also claimed to have “hardly any” confidence in the media than did African Americans. As far as income is concerned, the higher the income, the less confidence there is in the media. Out of those making $1,000 to $14999 per year 19.6% claimed to have a “great deal” of confidence while only 8.70% of those making $25000 and up said the same. The statistics also point toward the fact that Republicans are more likely to have less trust in the media than Democrats. Also, higher education seems to correlate with less trust in the media. Out of those who never graduated high school 21.7% claimed to have a “great deal” of confidence in the media compared to 9.50% of those with a college education. Overall the statistics seem to support the fact that higher television watching, lower income, affiliations with the Democratic party, and less education are all factors that affect one's confidence in the media.
Confidence in TV and Hours Watched Per Day by Family Income
$1K--$14999 $15K-$2499 $25K & UP Total Sample
G.D. O.S. H.A. G.D. O.S. H.A. G.D. O.S. H.A. G.D. O.S. H.A.
0.1Hrs 1 4.1% 6.8% 28.1% 15.1% 20.5% 30.3% 23.3% 26.0% 38.0% 19.3% 22.09% 30.4%
2-3 Hrs 35.2% 42.2% 40.9% 45.0% 48.3% 48.1% 45.6% 52.6% 47.1% 40.6% 47.8% 49.9%
4+ Hrs 50.7% 41.0% 31.1% 39.9% 31.2% 21.6% 31.2% 21.4% 14.9% 40.1% 29.3% 19.8%
Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
N= 1166 3472 1728 476 2074 1155 597 3653 2571 6366 3705 6731
p=.000 p=.000 p=.000 p=.000 p=.000 p=.000 p=.000 p=.000p=.000p=.000p=.000p=.000
G.D. = Great Deal
O.S. = Only Some
H.A. = Hardly Any
In the above table the data points again to the fact that greater amounts of television viewing increase the likelihood of increased confidence in the media over all income levels. From research done by Fred Bales (1986) we know that African Americans watch more television than do Caucasians (p. 285). This fact, inter coupled with the fact that watching more TV leads to higher levels of media confidence, creates an interesting connection that could be vital in understanding general African American attitudes toward the media and the factors that affect them.
Race in Relation to Political Affiliation, Income & Education
White Black
Democrat 45.7% 78.6%
Independent 14.1% 12.1%
Republican 40.2% 9.30%
Total 100% 100%
N= (37741) (5577)
White Black
Income $1K-$14999 33.3% 50.3%
Income $15K-$24999 20.5% 19.0%
Income $25K & UP 46.3% 30.7%
Total 100% 100%
N= (33691) (4764)
White Black
No HS Grad 23.3% 35.1%
HS Grad 32.2% 29.5%
College Educ 44.4% 35.4%
Total 100% 100%
N= (38383) (5660)
The data in the above tables relates race with certain factors that we have already found to affect confidence in the media. When it comes to political affiliation the data clearly shows that African Americans are more likely to be Democrat than are Caucasians. While 78.6% of African Americans are affiliated with the Democratic party only 45.7% of Caucasians claim to be the same. African Americans are also more likely to fall into the lower income level with 50.3% making an income from $1K-$14999 annually while only 33.3% of Caucasians fall into the same income bracket. When it comes to education, African Americans are more likely to complete less education than Caucasians. The data shows that 35.1% of African Americans did not graduate high school while 23.3% of Caucasians claimed the same. Interestingly, in all cases, African Americans seem more likely than Caucasians to be connected with factors that predispose them to a heightened sense of confidence in the media.
Discussion
According to the results of the research, African Americans indeed have higher levels of confidence in the media than the rest of the country as a whole. Although African American confidence levels have dropped over time with the rest of the country, the results of the research affirmed the hypothesis that these levels have still remained slightly higher than the rest of the population. The research has also affirmed that factors such as income, education, hours of television watching, and political affiliation all affect media confidence. Lower income, lower levels of education, higher amounts of television watching, and affiliations with the Democratic party all lead to higher levels of confidence in the media. The results of the research also point to the fact that African Americans are more likely than Caucasians to be connected with these factors. African Americans are more likely to be Democrat, less educated, paid less, and watch more television than Caucasians. Because of this, the results of the research affirm the hypothesis that these factors cause African Americans to have more confidence in the media.
Understanding why African Americans have higher levels of confidence in the media could be vital to understanding what causes heightened media confidence and what causes less media confidence for the country as a whole. Higher education may affect confidence in the media in obvious ways. Those who are more highly educated may be trained to think more critically and may not accept all information they receive from media sources while the less educated may not have the training necessary to think for themselves to the same extent. It is also understandable how income may affect confidence in the media for the fact that income and education many times go hand in hand. In many cases the further one goes in education the higher their income will be. Therefore higher income may relate to higher education. Since it has already been established that education may make one more cynical and therefore have less trust in the media, income consequently has an affect on confidence as well. As for hours of television watched, those who watch more TV may have more confidence in the media because they are constantly exposed to it and do not take the time to read or be in contact with other sources that may challenge their thoughts. This is a conceivable relationship. Less distinct is the relationship between political affiliation and confidence in the media. From this research it is hard to come to any solid conclusions about why Democrats may be more prone to trusting the media than Republicans. Perhaps the less educated and the poor many tend to be Democrat rather than Republican. If this be the case, than political affiliation would be connected with the previous factors of education and income and therefore also affect confidence in the media. The fact is that all the above factors affect confidence in the media, and they all relate to African Americans in a way that cause African Americans to have a heightened sense of confidence in the media.
This study points out several things that may be interesting to look at in the future. The fact that African Americans are more prone to be less educated and paid less is and unfortunate discovery of this research. If this could change over time it would be interesting to see if the trend of African Americans having higher confidence in the media would also change over time. If factors such as education, and income are truly major factors that affect confidence in the media than it is very conceivable that if African Americans became more educated and more highly paid over time their confidence in the media may drop to the same level as the rest of the country. Whatever the case, it seems like a healthy dose of mistrust in the media is a positive thing for the fact that it seems to be the byproduct of higher thinking. Hopefully in the future, things will change so that African Americans will have the same levels of confidence in the media as the rest of the population around them.
References
Bales, Fred (1986). Television Use and Confidence in Television by Blacks and Whites in Four
Selected Years. Journal of Black Studies, 16, 283-291.
Cook, T., & Gronke, P. (2001). The Dimensions of Institutional Trust: How Distinct is Public Confidence in the Media? (Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association). Chicago.
Geary, D. (2005) The Decline of Media Credibility and its Impact on Public Relations. Public
Relations Quarterly, 50, 3. Retrieved April 2, 2006 from Communication & Mass Media
Complete Database.