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Confirmatory News

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Author Info
Elena Panova
Abstract

This paper investigates how competition in the media affects the quality of news. In our model, demand for news depends on the market perception of the media's ability to receive correct information: it is positive if and only if news is potentially useful for the voting decision. When the media receives information which contradics commonly shared priors, it either reports this information or it confirms the priors: "most likely, my information is correct, but my potential buyers may be unable to assess the quality of news and attribute it according to common priors". We ask whether competition may help to elicit information from the media. Our answer is positive when news covers issues on which the priors are sufficiently precise, or the follow-up quality assessment is a likely event. However, when news concerns controversial issues and it is hardly possible to asses its quality, competitive pressures induce confirmatory reporting.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by CIRPEE in its series Cahiers de recherche with number 0912.

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Date of creation: 2009
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Handle: RePEc:lvl:lacicr:0912

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Related research
Keywords: Competition in the media; quality of news; common priors; reputational cheap-talk;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Djankov, Simeon & et al, 2003. "Who Owns the Media?," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(2), pages 341-81, October.
    Other versions:
  2. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2006. "Media Bias and Reputation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(2), pages 280-316, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Tim Groseclose & Jeffrey Milyo, 2005. "A Measure of Media Bias," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 120(4), pages 1191-1237, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Timothy Besley & Robin Burgess, 2002. "The Political Economy Of Government Responsiveness: Theory And Evidence From India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(4), pages 1415-1451, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. John R. Graham, 1999. "Herding among Investment Newsletters: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(1), pages 237-268, 02. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. David Hirshleifer, 1993. "Managerial Reputation and Corporate Investment Decisions," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 22(2), Summer.
  7. Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005. "The Market for News," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1031-1053, September. [Downloadable!]
  8. Ambrus, Attila & Reisinger, Markus, 2006. "Exclusive vs Overlapping Viewers in Media Markets," Discussion Papers in Economics 1178, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  9. Banerjee, Abhijit V, 1992. "A Simple Model of Herd Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(3), pages 797-817, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Stromberg, David, 2001. "Mass media and public policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 652-663, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Scharfstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1990. "Herd Behavior and Investment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 465-79, June.
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  12. Baron, David P., 2004. "Persistent Media Bias," Research Papers 1845r, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. [Downloadable!]
  13. Timothy Besley & Andrea Prat, 2006. "Handcuffs for the Grabbing Hand? Media Capture and Government Accountability," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(3), pages 720-736, June. [Downloadable!]
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  14. Attila Ambrus & Markus Reisinger, 2006. "Exclusive vs Overlapping Viewers in Media Markets," Discussion Papers 161, SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-5.

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