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Cited by 1,602Media Influence and PoliticsElectoral Systems and Political ParticipationMedia Studies and Communication

The Fox News Effect: Media Bias and Voting

DellaVigna, S., Kaplan, E.·2007·The Quarterly Journal of Economics
DOI 10.1162/qjec.122.3.1187
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Abstract

Does media bias affect voting? We analyze the entry of Fox News in cable markets and its impact on voting. Between October 1996 and November 2000, the conservative Fox News Channel was introduced in the cable programming of 20 percent of U. S. towns. Fox News availability in 2000 appears to be largely idiosyncratic, conditional on a set of controls. Using a data set of voting data for 9,256 towns, we investigate if Republicans gained vote share in towns where Fox News entered the cable market by the year 2000. We find a significant effect of the introduction of Fox News on the vote share in Presidential elections between 1996 and 2000. Republicans gained 0.4 to 0.7 percentage points in the towns that broadcast Fox News. Fox News also affected voter turnout and the Republican vote share in the Senate. Our estimates imply that Fox News convinced 3 to 28 percent of its viewers to vote Republican, depending on the audience measure. The Fox News effect could be a temporary learning effect for rational voters, or a permanent effect for nonrational voters subject to persuasion.

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Crossref · 10.1162/qjec.122.3.1187

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  • The rise of Fox News is estimated to have led between 5% and 30% of non-Republican voters to switch their support to George W. Bush in the 2000 election.

    “the rise of Fox News is estimated to have led between 5% and 30% of non-Republican voters to switch their support to George W. Bush in the 2000 election (DellaVigna & Kaplan, 2007).”

    From Stories in Action. (2022) · cites this paper as DellaVigna & Kaplan, 2007

  • These trends are also reflected in, and amplified by, popular media.

    “These trends are also reflected in, and amplified by, popular media (DellaVigna and Kaplan 2007; Levendusky 2013; Martin and Yurukoglu 2017).”

    From Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure (2020) · cites this paper as DellaVigna and Kaplan 2007

  • Based on the documented connection between Fox News and conservative politics, viewership of the channel is used as an indication of household demand for partisan media content.

    “Based on the documented connection between Fox News and conservative politics (DellaVigna and Kaplan 2007; Martin and Yurukoglu 2017), we use viewership of the channel as an indication of household demand for partisan media content.”

    From Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure (2020) · cites this paper as DellaVigna and Kaplan 2007

  • Fox News, since its launch in 1996, has openly supported Republican politicians and viewpoints and opposed Democratic ones.

    “In a break with long-standing convention in network TV programming, Fox News, since its launch in 1996, has openly supported Republican politicians and viewpoints and opposed Democratic ones.”

    From Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure (2020) · cites this paper as DellaVigna and Kaplan 2007

  • Other factors related to polarization include intensified media partisanship and stronger ideological sorting of voters by party.

    “Other factors related to polarization include intensified media partisanship (DellaVigna and Kaplan 2007; Levendusky 2013; Prior 2013) and stronger ideological sorting of voters by party(Levendusky 2009).”

    From Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure (2020) · cites this paper as DellaVigna and Kaplan 2007

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Authors
DellaVigna, S., & Kaplan, E.
Affiliations
  • National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
  • Stockholm University (SE)
Venue
The Quarterly Journal of Economics
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2007-08-01
Volume
122
Issue
3
Pages
1187-1234
ISSN
  • 0033-5533 (ISSN-L)
  • 1531-4650
DOI
10.1162/qjec.122.3.1187
OpenAlex
W2166119588
Cited by
1,602
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 62 · 2025: 86 · 2024: 120 · 2023: 127 · 2022: 105 · 2021: 91 · 2020: 163 · 2019: 111 · 2018: 103 · 2017: 71 · 2016: 71 · 2015: 96 · 2014: 75 · 2013: 75 · 2012: 56
FWCI
129.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Quarterly Journal of Economics (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Media Influence and Politics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Media Studies and Communication
Keywords
Fox News, media bias, voting behavior, cable television, conservative media, Republican vote share, presidential elections, voter turnout, Senate elections, media effects on politics, persuasion

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