'John Stewart effect' on Political opinion
The fact that Sonia Gandhi is portrayed as having sway over the Prime Minister and this piece of 'disturbing information' is consistently hammered into the psyches of a certain receptive audience, I believe has its desired outcome. This despite the fact that the audience would not have a single policy decision to quote, from the past years of governance, as testimony to the allegation.
In the US., this is the 'John Stewart effect', though note the consequences don't have the larger public in its sway. Thank God for that.
Consider Jay Cost; 'So, I think the answer to the title question ('Does Jon Stewart Influence Public Opinion?') has to be an extremely qualified yes. Those who consistently view the Daily Show probably can be swayed to the left - but this is a relatively small slice of the public, which means that the effect on political outcomes is probably quite small. On top of that, the audience seems to be pretty self-sorted, anyway. So, the effect in 2004 might have been real on some people, but in the grand scheme of things it was quite modest.'
In the US., this is the 'John Stewart effect', though note the consequences don't have the larger public in its sway. Thank God for that.
Consider Jay Cost; 'So, I think the answer to the title question ('Does Jon Stewart Influence Public Opinion?') has to be an extremely qualified yes. Those who consistently view the Daily Show probably can be swayed to the left - but this is a relatively small slice of the public, which means that the effect on political outcomes is probably quite small. On top of that, the audience seems to be pretty self-sorted, anyway. So, the effect in 2004 might have been real on some people, but in the grand scheme of things it was quite modest.'
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