Red Media, Blue Media: Evidence of Ideological Selectivity in Media Use

• Published in: Journal of communication Vol. 59; no. 1; pp. 19 - 39
• Main Authors: Iyengar, Shanto, Hahn, Kyu S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.03.2009; Wiley; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Audience; Communication; Conservatives; Democratic parties; Ideology; Media; News; News media; Political behaviour; Political parties; Political sociology; Politics; Preferences; Republican parties; Sociology; Sociology of communication and mass media. Sociolinguistics; Sociology of knowledge and sociology of culture; Television; U.S.A; United States Of America; Political attitude; Preference; News

We show that the demand for news varies with the perceived affinity of the news organization to the consumer’s political preferences. In an experimental setting, conservatives and Republicans preferred to read news reports attributed to Fox News and to avoid news from CNN and NPR. Democrats and libe...