Jennifer Butler

A Comparative Study: How Media Affect Public Opinion on the War in Iraq Jennifer Butler

This book examines how newspapers, television, and the Internet affect public opinion on the war in Iraq and whether the use of the Internet results in a different impact on public opinion than more traditional media. Traditional news sources such as newspapers and television allow consumers to receive information, but the Internet allows consumers the opportunity to interact with this information. It is expected that as the Internet is utilized as an alternate news source, public support for the war in Iraq will decrease. To investigate the influence the Internet has on public opinion, statistical analyses were run using the March 2003 data set from the Pew Internet and American Life Project focusing on attitudes and opinions about the Iraq War. The Iraq War was chosen as a case study since it is one of the first major U. S. conflicts occurring after the mass dispersion of the personal computer. It is shown that though the Internet is not the primary way for receiving news information in 2003, it has an impact on public opinion. Those who rely on the Internet as a source of news have lower approval ratings for the war in Iraq.