media do spread 'memes' - PEJ study

[NoBorders]

NewsHour just interviewed someone from the Project for Excellence in Journalism, who just completed a study which "examined how the major narrative themes about the character of the candidates were portrayed in the news media, advertising and late night comedy programs spanning four months from March to June 2004."

The assertion in my title is my own, but I think it supported by the last statement in the key points below from the study.

Worth a look:

http://www.journalism.org/resources/research/reports/campaign2004/character/default.asp

Key Findings:
-There is evidence that the press is having an impact: the more people pay attention to press coverage, the more likely they are to match the character traits with the candidates the same way the press has.1
-The impact of the press coverage may be greater in battleground states, where the survey data shows people are paying closer attention to candidate news.
-Advertising, on the other hand, has had only a limited impact on the public's thinking.
-Undecided voters at this point tend to consume news less, see slightly fewer ads and are generally less engaged in the political process. They also have the most indistinct impression of both candidates at this point.
-Journalists were almost as likely as the campaigns to be the source asserting these character traits about the candidates.
More than four in ten character assertions were made with no evidence cited to back them up.