Conceptualizing long-term media effects on societal beliefs

ABSTRACT This article critically examines long-term media effects in communication research. Focusing on news exposure, the purpose is to provide a review and theoretical conceptualization of long-term effects on societal beliefs. The first part presents an empirical overview of research published in leading communication journals. While longitudinal studies are not uncommon, few have an explicit and elaborated focus on long-term influences. To advance future research, the second part builds on cognitive schema theory to develop three distinct ways of conceptualizing long-term effects: in terms of (a) effect duration, (b) effect mechanisms and (c) effect dynamics. Finally, the third part condenses a comprehensive literature review into a multilevel framework model of factors contributing to long-term media effects on societal beliefs.