Fresh Politics, New Media

I'm happy to report that I've published a new piece of research in the latest issue of the British Journal, Celebrity Studies . The article, originally a part of my dissertation, examines the influence of celebrity issue advocacy messages (both video and text) on political engagement at the issue level. This new research emphasis on celebrity politics represents a new direction for my research on the impact of political entertainment. The case study for the research is Angelina Jolie's involvement with the global refugee crisis and the impact of exposure to her celebrity advocacy efforts vs. exposure to advocacy efforts of an expert on situational involvement, complacency, and apathy toward the refugee issue. The experiment discussed in the article presents some interesting findings about the relationships between receptivity toward celebrity politics and apathy and complacency, and the relationships between situational involvement on the issue and political disaffection....

Last week, President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage in a highly watched interview with ABC News'  Robin Roberts. The news media and political pundits have spent the past week or so discussing the implications of President Obama's statement , focusing on consequences for public opinion and the likely outcome of the November 2012 election. Some, myself included , have speculated about the political implications for states like Maryland that are currently embroiled in the debate. Others have spent considerable time reacting to North Carolina's vote to pass Amendment One banning same-sex unions -- here's just one example of how celebrity politics can coalesce around an issue debate. Beyond the polls and the speculation, some journalists have chosen to focus on the personal nature of the issue , a theme that dominates my own recent research on public opinion toward same-sex marriage. As I show in a new article in The International Journal of Public...

Jimmy Kimmel performed at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend. The routine is actually quite funny, unless you're Chris Christie, Rupert Murdoch, or Sofia Vergara. How many more jokes can we take about Chris Christie's weight, Murdoch's ill-fated MySpace purchase, or Sofia Vergara's Colombian heritage? Seriously though, Jimmy Kimmel did a pretty good job and the event was a big hit in Washington . As is custom, the President also delivered his own comic routine. Following on the heels of his appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Obama scored some good laughs with the crowd and both Kimmel and Obama got some jabs in at Mitt Romney. Here's the president's speech.     So who stole the show?

Apologies for the lack of recent posts, but here's a really great political comedy clip. Check out Barack Obama slow jamming the news on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (from Tuesday's broadcast). The Barack Obama slow jam was followed by an interview with Jimmy Fallon. The interview focused a bit on politics but primarily allowed Obama to appear as the cooler candidate for President (at least when compared with Mitt Romney). Jon Stewart rehashed the Obama slow jam on last night's episode of The Daily Show. In fact, Obama's appearance has drawn a considerable amount of attention from traditional and new media outlets -- it serves as the latest political comedy moment. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Endless Suffrage 2012 - The End of the Beginning's Middle www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook The general consensus is that Obama did a  pretty good job ...

I published two research articles on public opinion toward same-sex marriage this week. The two solo-authored research articles extend my previous research on attitudes toward this controversial issue . The first piece,  What’s marriage (and family) got to do with it? Support for same-sex marriage, legal unions, and gay and lesbian couples raising children   was published by Social Science Quarterly . The article examines the impact of marital and family status and views on the purpose of marriage on support for gay marriage, legal unions, and gay and lesbian couples raising children. The bottom line: while ideological and religious values still matter most when it comes to predicting opinions on gay civil rights issues, it's also important to look at the role that marriage, family, and views on the purpose of marriage have in shaping the debate. The second piece,  Determinants of public support for same-sex marriage: Generational cohorts, social contact, and shifti...

Jon Stewart offered his own commentary on the latest Rush Limbaugh incident on Tuesday's broadcast. In the clip, Stewart mentions that Limbaugh is criticizing a private citizen but doesn't capitalize on this distinction. Instead he focuses on how the Right responded to Limbaugh's comments. Their answer: criticize Bill Maher, a liberal comedian with his own show on HBO, for calling Sarah Palin the "c" and "t" word. Do note that Sarah Palin is a very, very public person but Sandra Fluke is simply a Georgetown University law student. The clip continues by discussing Fox News' targeting of comedians. Did you know that comedians wear helmets according to Fox? By the end of the clip, Stewart tells the network to "Shut the F@#k Up!" The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook Regardless of the helmet fiasco (mocked nicely during the Will Ferrell interv...

We've been hearing a lot more about Iran these days -- whether it's during the Republican presidential debates, in the wide range of  reporting on the speeches of Barack Obama and the 2012 GOP hopefuls at this year's AIPAC conference, or the coverage of Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with Barack Obama. Even  The Daily Show weighed in this past Tuesday with a carefully constructed, graphically pleasing, and incredibly poignant discussion of the current controversy and the influence that the 2012 election season has had on the rhetoric surrounding the debate over what to do about Iran. I used to write a column for The Baltimore Sun  pointing out the best political comedy clips each month. I can honestly say that this clip would have made my list for March and perhaps for the entire winter season. Check it out for yourself: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook Stewart...