The Consequences of Broader Media Choice: Evidence from the Expansion of Fox News
Open accessAbstract
In recent decades, the diversity of Americans’ news choices has expanded substantially. This paper examines whether access to an ideologically distinctive news source — the Fox News cable channel — influences vote intentions and whether any such effect is concentrated among those likely to agree with Fox’s partisan viewpoint. To test these possibilities with individual-level data, we identify local Fox News availability for 22,595 respondents to the 2000 National Annenberg Election Survey. Overall, we find a pro-Republican average treatment effect that is statistically indistinguishable from zero. Yet, when separating respondents by party, we find a sizable effect of Fox access only on the vote intentions of Republicans and pure independents, a result that is bolstered by placebo tests. Contrary to fears about pervasive media influence, access to an ideologically distinctive media source reinforces the loyalties of co-partisans and possibly persuades independents without influencing out-partisans.
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Exposure to ideologically driven networks such as Fox News on the political right and MSNBC on the political left exerts both persuasive and reinforcement effects.
“Exposure to ideologically driven networks (such as Fox News on the political right and MSNBC on the political left) exerts both persuasive245,246 and reinforcement effects247.”
From Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts (2022) · cites this paper as [247]
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Red Media, Blue Media: Evidence of Ideological Selectivity in Media Use
Iyengar, S., & Hahn, K. S. (2009) · Journal of Communication · doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2008.01402.x · Cited by 1,940 · see citing works
A Theory of Framing and Opinion Formation in Competitive Elite Environments
Chong, D., & Druckman, J. N. (2007) · Journal of Communication · doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00331.x · Cited by 1,159 · see citing works
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The Nature and Origins of Misperceptions: Understanding False and Unsupported Beliefs About Politics
Flynn, D. J., Nyhan, B., & Reifler, J. (2017) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12394 · Cited by 1,183 · see citing works
The Hostile Audience: The Effect of Access to Broadband Internet on Partisan Affect
Lelkes, Y., Sood, G., & Iyengar, S. (2017) · American Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1111/ajps.12237 · Cited by 476 · see citing works
Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts
Jost, J. T., Baldassarri, D. S., & Druckman, J. N. (2022) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-022-00093-5 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Local News, Information, and the Nationalization of U.S. Elections
MOSKOWITZ, D. J. (2021) · American Political Science Review · doi:10.1017/s0003055420000829 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Polarizing the middle: internet exposure and public opinion
Bryson, B. P. (2020) · International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy · doi:10.1108/ijssp-09-2019-0181 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hopkins, D. J., & Ladd, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Georgetown University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hopkins, Daniel J.
- ORCID
- Hopkins, Daniel J.
- Venue
- Quarterly Journal of Political Science
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2014-03-11
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 115-135
- ISSN
- 1554-0626 (ISSN-L)
- 1554-0634
- OpenAlex
- W3124823457
- Cited by
- 162
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 38 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 16.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- Quarterly Journal of Political Science (publishedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (publishedVersion)
- 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, cable news, media selection, voting intention, partisanship, independent voters, media influence on voters, 2000 presidential election
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