Matthew Nisbet
Professor of Communication at Northeastern University.
nisbetmc
Posts by this author
September 19, 2008
Global warming and the environment are dead last among the criteria that voters are using to evaluate the presidential candidates, according to a recent Gallup survey.
When asked in an open-ended question "What would you say are the one or two most important reasons why you would vote for […
September 19, 2008
While many Democrats and women find Palin's support for criminalizing abortion to be outrageous, a recent survey by the Pew organization finds that roughly 40% of Americans generally agree with her views.
Combined, 41% of Americans answer that abortion should be outlawed in either in all cases (…
September 19, 2008
Piggybacking on last week's Bill Moyers segment on radical right media and hate speech, Media Matters for America issued the following action advisory last night:
Michael Savage is at it again.
Dear Friend,
On the September 16 broadcast of his syndicated radio show, discussing a caller's comment…
September 18, 2008
That's the question posed this past week at PBS' Bill Moyers Journal. The program is a hard hitting examination of the impact of radical right talk radio, books, and TV shows not just on the nature of political discourse but also their link to violent actions against elected officials and fellow…
September 17, 2008
Expect to hear a lot about this from the Obama campaign over the next few weeks.
See the front page article at today's Washington Post, detailing McCain's reaction to the Wall Street bailout. As the article reports, before McCain was for regulation and "reforming Wall Street," he was a leader…
September 16, 2008
Back in July, I sat down for an hour long interview with the new TED-like social media site Big Think. The innovative project features "hundreds of hours of direct, unfiltered interviews with today's leading thinkers" segmented by topic category and spliced into 3 to 4 minute conversations.
The…
September 16, 2008
On Thursday, Dec. 4, I will be speaking at the New York Academy of Sciences, located on the 40th floor of World Trade Center #7.
It's a busy academic year, with several upcoming speaking engagements. Below are the dates and venues that are scheduled. I hope to see and meet blog readers at these…
September 16, 2008
"Grandpa" McCain?: The presidential hopeful relies on his wife and aides to show him things online or to read him email messages.
As I've written, McCain's admission that he doesn't know how to use the Internet or a computer has helped feed the Obama campaign's narrative that the GOP candidate is…
September 15, 2008
Over at the Daily Kos, University of Washington communication professor David Domke issues a bold call to news organizations. Warning that the McCain-Palin campaign represents a "crisis for mainstream journalists," Domke urges news organizations to not back down from vetting the claims and…
September 12, 2008
From a press release out today, detailing the strong commitment from both parties to biomedical research.
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Office of Public Affairs ⢠9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Md. 20814-3998 ⢠http://opa.faseb.org/
Contact: Carrie D. Wolinetz, PhD…
September 12, 2008
Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin might dispute the human contribution to climate change, oppose embryonic stem cell research, and promote creationism, but in other ways she has been an advocate for science. As I wrote last week, while on a few issues bi-partisan support for science breaks down, on…
September 12, 2008
From the Associated Press:
On Friday, a McCain radio ad attempted to present McCain and Palin as a unified force behind stem cell research. In fact, McCain supports relaxing federal restrictions on financing of embryonic stem cell research, a position opposed by abortion opponents. Palin opposes…
September 12, 2008
A lot of people are talking and blogging about Matt Damon's comments on the Sarah Palin choice for vice president (above). But here is the problem:
It's the right frame and message on Palin but Damon is the wrong messenger. When Hollywood celebrities speak out on the election it energizes some…
September 12, 2008
E-Magazine has a feature out on the (non)-role of science issues in this year's presidential race as well as the failed attempts at a Science Debate. I'm quoted in the article, as is my friend Chris Mooney, and other experts such as Harvard's Sheila Jasanoff.
Of note are these plans and comments…
September 12, 2008
About 3% of Americans identify as Pentecostals meaning that probably few members of the public have an idea of what VP nominee Sarah Palin's religious tradition might teach or what she might believe. As a resource, Pew has released a comprehensive backgrounder on the beliefs, practices, issue…
September 12, 2008
As I wrote last month, one key advertising strategy for the Obama campaign is to use aspects of McCain's background along with his media gaffes to paint the Republican nominee as out of touch with the economy and with average Americans. As I wrote, it's a strategy that worked effectively for the…
September 11, 2008
Two essays I wrote on Expelled are now in print and I have placed PDFs of the articles online. The first shorter essay appears at Skeptical Inquirer magazine and reviews the impact of the film at the state level, as it has shaped local news coverage and the legislative agenda. I conclude that as a…
September 11, 2008
A few things are interesting about this clip showing a focus group run by Frank Luntz with Minnesota voters on behalf of the AARP. First, when Luntz asks the participants to name the first things that come to mind about Palin, you notice that no one mentions issues or her stand on them whether it…
September 11, 2008
Following up on her testimony before Congress yesterday, MIT President Susan Hockfield writes in the Washington Post today that the U.S. needs a Manhattan Project-scale investment in renewable energy R&D.
Drawing on the metaphor of Vannevar Bush's pact between government and science, Hockfield…
September 10, 2008
How bad have things gotten when it comes to substantive coverage and discussion of the presidential election? Pew finds that at the end of August, just 2% of total news coverage focused on issues rather than the day-to-day strategies and conflicts between the two candidates (graph above).…
September 10, 2008
Last month Pew released a comprehensive analysis of news audience trends over time and across demographics. One of the key findings (depicted at left) was the continued decline in public attention to news about science and technology, with only 13% of Americans saying they follow the topic "very…
September 9, 2008
"Behold the power and glory of the scientific method!," quotes The Onion in a satirical spoof of science enthusiasts flocking to a wall stain of the image of Darwin (above.) The parody plays on the type of religious-like hero worship of Darwin and hardline atheist scientists that is common to some…
September 9, 2008
As the Sunday NY Times details, strategist Steve Schmidt has turned around the McCain campaign with brilliant advertising that sets the news agenda and primes voter evaluations. The former Rove deputy also was a key figure in the selection of Sarah Palin. His genius continues with the latest ad…
September 7, 2008
As I have written in various articles, when it comes to science debates, the public is far more likely to be miserly in reaching a judgment than fully informed. Most citizens are cognitive misers relying heavily on information short cuts and heuristics to make up their minds about a science…
September 6, 2008
That's the argument of Curtis Brainard at the Columbia Journalism Review. As he concludes:
Palin might not have the longest political track record to scrutinize, but the environment is clearly one area in which there is plenty of room to dig. It's time for the national media to take a cue from the…
September 5, 2008
As I've blogged before, research shows that The Daily Show is likely to cultivate cynicism among its younger audience while threatening to displace more traditional sources of news that might be better at providing context and understanding.
But there are moments when The Daily Show rises above…
September 5, 2008
To say that Republicans are anti-science has always been an extreme over-simplification, the type of characterization that carries weight at liberal blogs but doesn't really match up well with political reality. The facts are that science has always enjoyed strong bi-partisan support. Only on a few…
September 5, 2008
From the latest Policy Alert of the American Association for the Advancement of Science:
Republican VP Pick Supports Teaching "Both Sides." Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain's choice for his running-mate, has expressed views on a number of issues of interest to scientists. In a…
September 3, 2008
In otherwise strong performances by Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin, I was struck by the sneering arrogance in their dismissal of community organizers and the rabid reaction of the GOP audience.
Weren't Jesus and Mother Teresa community organizers? Didn't they, in the words of Palin, have "actual…
September 3, 2008
George Lakoff weighs in with an assessment of what Sarah Palin can do for the McCain candidacy:
The initial response has been to try to keep the focus on external realities, the "issues," and differences on the issues. But the Palin nomination is not basically about external realities and what…