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246 McLEOD, KOSICKI, McLEOD
findings is that the current pattern of low participation among the young
is apt to translate into even lower rates of overall participation as they
move through the life cycle.
Concern with declining youth participation has precipitated a reexam-
ination of the political socialization research that was popular in the 1960s
(Flanagan & Sherrod, 1998; Niemi, 1999). Political socialization work vir-
tually disappeared after the 1970s, in large part because it was based on a
flawed developmental transmission model. The developing adolescent
was seen as a passive recipient in the learning process. Reflecting the sta-
bility bias of the historical period, what was to be learned was a fixed set
of “norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors accepted and practiced by the
ongoing system” (Sigel, 1965, p. 1). Diversity and conflict within the soci-
ety were not considered. Today it seems appropriate to treat societies and
communities not as unified wholes, but as arenas where many forces with
differing interests are contending.
The new civic socialization research conceives of youth as potential
participants actively engaged in the world around them, often trying out
roles in anticipation of adulthood. Civic knowledge, interpersonal trust,
and efficacious attitudes remain as criteria for socialization effects, but so
are news media use, issue discussion, thoughtful processing of informa-
tion, listening and turn-taking in discussions, and working out compro-
mises (McLeod, 2000).
Programs for Improving Democractic Processes
Concern for the health of democratic practices has led to an unprece-
dented number of reform efforts during the past decade. Many of the
reform programs addressed problems in the conduct of election cam-
paigns. Reforms not limited to campaigns focus on the news media
whereas others target youth as a crucial category for long-term change.
Adwatch. These efforts, which are now a staple of network and local
news coverage of campaigns, represent a new level of activity by journal-
ists. Jamieson (1992) promulgated a series of “visual grammar” principles
to guide journalists toward effective efforts to combat the power of nega-
tive ads after noticing that previous efforts seemed to magnify the power
of the ads they were designed to attack. This occurs largely through the
need to quote the offending ad in order to then systematically attack it.
Adwatch efforts have come under criticism (Ansolabehere & Iyengar,
1995; Pfau & Louden, 1994) as ineffective, largely because of journalistic
timidity; that is, journalists too often quote an ad in a news program, thus
giving it an audience it would never have on its own, and attack its prin-
ciples in ineffective ways (Jamieson & Cappella, 1997). Various sugges-