Annual Review of Political Science· 2013Q1· Review
Media and Political Polarization
- 1,130citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2013year
Short summary
Increased partisan media choices have made elections more partisan by reducing the share of less interested voters, but evidence for a causal link to changing attitudes or behaviors in the general population is mixed.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Evidence suggests polarization is occurring among the politically involved, not the general population.
- Proliferation of media choices has made elections more partisan by decreasing the share of less interested voters.
- A causal link between partisan media messages and changing attitudes or behaviors in the general population is mixed at best.
- Ideologically one-sided news exposure is likely limited to a small, highly involved, and influential segment of the population.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
This article examines if the emergence of more partisan media has contributed to political polarization and led Americans to support more partisan policies and candidates. Congress and some newer media outlets have added more partisan messages to a continuing supply of mostly centrist news. Although political attitudes of most Americans have remained fairly moderate, evidence points to some polarization among the politically involved. Proliferation of media choices lowered the share of less interested, less partisan voters and thereby made elections more partisan. But evidence for a causal link between more partisan messages and changing attitudes or behaviors is mixed at best. Measurement problems hold back research on partisan selective exposure and its consequences. Ideologically one-sided news exposure may be largely confined to a small, but highly involved and influential, segment of the population. There is no firm evidence that partisan media are making ordinary Americans more partisan.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Annual Review of Political Science, 2013 · DOI ↗
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Field: Communication
CommunicationSocial Sciences