John Zaller

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John R. Zaller (born 1949) is a political scientist and professor specializing in public opinion at the University of California, Los Angeles. He graduated from Saint Monica Catholic High School in Santa Monica, CA. He pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Riverside. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984.

Zaller is best known for his 1992 book The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion, in which he argues that changes in public opinion are due to the influences of political elites. His more recent work has focused on the mass media (A Theory of Media Politics: How the Interests of Politicians, Journalists and Citizens Shape the News) and political parties in a new book with Marty Cohen, David Karol and Hans Noel (The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations before and after Reform. University of Chicago Press, 2008) Although he acknowledges the mainstream media's shortcomings, Zaller holds a positive view of "infotainment", arguing that even sensationalist and superficial media coverage of politics serves to inform and does increase awareness of political issues. Zaller teaches undergraduate classes on electoral politics and the mass media's influence on public opinion in election cycles.

[edit] Bibliography

• The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion New York: Cambridge University Press (summary)
• "Who Gets the News: Measuring Individual Differences in Likelihood of News Reception" with Vincent Price. Public Opinion Quarterly 1993.