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Facilitating Communication across Lines of Political Difference: The Role of Mass Media

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  • Mutz, Diana C.

Abstract

We use national survey data to examine the extent to which various sources of political information expose people to dissimilar political views. We hypothesize that the individual’s ability and desire to exercise selective exposure is a key factor in determining whether a given source produces exposure to dissimilar views. Although a lack of diverse perspectives is a common complaint against American news media, we find that individuals are exposed to far more dissimilar political views via news media than through interpersonal political discussants. The media advantage is rooted in the relative difficulty of selectively exposing oneself to those sources of information, as well as the lesser desire to do so, given the impersonal nature of mass media.

Suggested Citation

  • Mutz, Diana C., 2001. "Facilitating Communication across Lines of Political Difference: The Role of Mass Media," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 95(1), pages 97-114, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:95:y:2001:i:01:p:97-114_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Ascensión Andina-Díaz, 2006. "Political competition when media create candidates’ charisma," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 345-366, June.
    2. Galily, Yair, 2019. "“Shut up and dribble!”?Athletes activism in the age of twittersphere: The case of LeBron James," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    3. Jimmy Chan & Daniel Stone, 2013. "Media proliferation and partisan selective exposure," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 467-490, September.
    4. Edward L. Glaeser, 2013. "The Supply of Environmentalism," NBER Working Papers 19359, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Dan Simon & Nicholas Scurich, 2013. "The Effect of Legal Expert Commentary on Lay Judgments of Judicial Decision Making," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(4), pages 797-814, December.
    6. Chang, Meng-Ting, 2011. "Different blog use, different participation," 8th ITS Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, Taipei 2011: Convergence in the Digital Age 52305, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    7. Hyunkuk Lee, 2021. "Does the Medium Matter? Linking Citizens’ Use of Communication Platform for Information about Urban Policies to Decision to Trust in Local Government," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, March.
    8. Gabor Toka & Marina Popescu, 2009. "Public Television, Private Television and Citizens' Political Knowledge," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 66, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    9. Ashani Amarasinghe & Paul A. Raschky, 2022. "Competing for Attention - The Effect of Talk Radio on Elections and Political Polarization in the US," SoDa Laboratories Working Paper Series 2022-02, Monash University, SoDa Laboratories.
    10. Marc Esteve-Del-Valle, 2022. "Homophily and Polarization in Twitter Political Networks: A Cross-Country Analysis," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(2), pages 81-92.
    11. Sara K. Yeo & Michael A. Xenos & Dominique Brossard & Dietram A. Scheufele, 2015. "Selecting Our Own Science," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 658(1), pages 172-191, March.
    12. Elizabeth Levy Paluck, 2007. "Reducing intergroup prejudice and conflict with the media: A field experiment in Rwanda," HiCN Working Papers 34, Households in Conflict Network.
    13. Lindita Camaj, 2019. "From Selective Exposure to Selective Information Processing: A Motivated Reasoning Approach," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(3), pages 8-11.
    14. Stern, Samuel & Livan, Giacomo, 2021. "The impact of noise and topology on opinion dynamics in social networks," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113424, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Nicholas Charron & Paola Annoni, 2021. "What is the Influence of News Media on People’s Perception of Corruption? Parametric and Non-Parametric Approaches," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(3), pages 1139-1165, February.
    16. Wietzke, Frank-Borge, 2014. "Pathways from jobs to social cohesion," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6804, The World Bank.
    17. Ulf Richter, 2011. "Drivers of Change: A Multiple-Case Study on the Process of Institutionalization of Corporate Responsibility Among Three Multinational Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 261-279, August.
    18. Cherry, Todd L. & Kallbekken, Steffen & Kroll, Stephan, 2017. "Accepting market failure: Cultural worldviews and the opposition to corrective environmental policies," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 193-204.

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