Putnam i det moderna medielandskapet : En kvantitativ studie av sambandet mellan tv-tittande och förtroende för politiker

Sammanfattning: Abstract What role does our consumption of television play in the trust we have in our politicians? This study examines how the theses of American political scientist Robert D. Putnam on the part played by TV viewing in a failed civic spirit from the year 2000 hold up in a changed media landscape. The relationship between TV viewing and trust in politicians over time, between the years 2002 to 2014, is tested through regression analysis. This is conducted with data from the European Social Survey, which includes 16 European countries, all of which participated in all rounds of the period. The study finds, despite a weak negative relationship, that tv consumption cannot be said to be a particularly strong predictive factor for the level of trust a consumer has in politicians. This in contrast with Putnam’s theses, which points out TV as an important explanation for what he believes is a failed civic spirit. The study also finds that the negative relationship becomes somewhat stronger over time. This aligns with Putnam’s description that individualization has led to TV viewing taking us further away from community with other people, rather than the opposite, which negatively impacts the trust. The study contributes by bringing Putnam’s theses into a new time period, and broadens the perspective by taking his ideas of media and civic spirit across the Atlantic.