Page 199 - Communication and Citizenship Journalism and the Public Sphere

188 COMMUNICATION AND CITIZENSHIP

much understanding either has the structure of or draws on narratives
centered around individual characters, even though, as suggested in this
chapter, the forms of understanding may be less determinate than has
been assumed in some previous research.
Fourth, the interviews contain some suggestions that it may be
relevant to explore a perspective of social distance in further research.
People bring a sense of social belonging or identity to the understanding
of political information, a sense of being a subject among other social
subjects; exposure to political communication is one occasion for
considering individuals in social perspective. One relevant question is
how people conceive of their own position in the social structure when
confronted with specific public issues. For an answer to this, we again
point to further research.
While the conceptualization of politics in the two samples exhibits
similarities as well as differences, it is important to bear in mind the
overall differences between the two studies. For example, in the Danish
sample, the many references to the environment may be accounted for,
in part, by two stories on pollution and recycling, even if the theme was
generalized and applied to other stories. Similarly, the discussion of the
state as a powerful other in the question of (un-)employment may be
prompted by several interviews with workers during the program. In the
American sample, the prevalence of human-impact and religious
considerations may, in part, be due to the moral aspects of drug abuse,
AIDS and, perhaps, apartheid. We suggest that the themes identified in
each sample revolve around a set of shared perspectives, which are
articulated in culturally specific forms in each sample.
Finally, it appears that the perspectives may intersect in the
understanding of a particular issue or news story. A powerful other such
as the state may be seen as responsible for unemployment, whose impact
may, furthermore, be conceived in personalized terms. However, we do
not suggest that the perspectives make up an integrated structure which
might predict the understanding of a given issue. Indeed, both studies
support the conclusion that people perform an active reconstruction of
politics while drawing on a variety of themes. A better understanding of
how this reconstruction takes place is important not just for the analysis
of politics as an aspect of everyday life, but also for empowering people
in contexts other than research.