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In the Eye of the Beholder: How Information Shortcuts Shape Individual Perceptions of Bias in the Media

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  • Baum, Matthew A.
  • Gussin, Phil

Abstract

Research has shown that humans are biased information processors. This study investigates an important potential example of biased information processing: when ex ante assessments of a media outlet's ideological orientation cause individual's to perceive bias in balanced news coverage. We conduct an experiment in which participants evaluated the content of a news report about the 2004 presidential election identified as originating from CNN, FOX or a fictional TV station. Our results suggest that in an increasingly fragmented media marketplace, individuals not only distinguish between media outlets but, more importantly, outlet brand names, and the reputations they carry, function as heuristics, heavily influencing perceptions of bias in content. As a result, individuals sometimes create bias, even where none exists.

Suggested Citation

  • Baum, Matthew A. & Gussin, Phil, 2008. "In the Eye of the Beholder: How Information Shortcuts Shape Individual Perceptions of Bias in the Media," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, now publishers, vol. 3(1), pages 1-31, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:now:jlqjps:100.00007010
    DOI: 10.1561/100.00007010
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    Cited by:

    1. Robin Blom, 2023. "The Awkward Moment When You Agree With News Outlets That You Normally Distrust," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(4), pages 344-354.
    2. David Rozado & Musa al-Gharbi, 2022. "Using word embeddings to probe sentiment associations of politically loaded terms in news and opinion articles from news media outlets," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 427-448, May.
    3. Christian Gläßel & Katrin Paula, 2020. "Sometimes Less Is More: Censorship, News Falsification, and Disapproval in 1989 East Germany," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(3), pages 682-698, July.
    4. Rafael Di Tella & Ignacio Franceschelli, 2011. "Government Advertising and Media Coverage of Corruption Scandals," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 119-151, October.
    5. Lin Hu & Matthew Kovach & Anqi Li, 2023. "Learning Source Biases: Multi-sourced Misspecifications and Consequences," Papers 2309.08740, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2024.
    6. Hassan Afrouzi & Carolina Arteaga & Emily Weisburst, 2022. "Can Leaders Persuade? Examining Movement in Immigration Beliefs," CESifo Working Paper Series 9593, CESifo.

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