Citation

Feldman L, Wojcieszak M, Stroud NJ, Bimber B. J. Broadcast. Electron. Media 2018; 62(1): 109-130.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Broadcast Education Association, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/08838151.2017.1375502

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study analyzes the predictors of 2 types of media selectivity: interest-based (i.e., choice of entertainment over politics) and partisan (i.e., choice of pro-attitudinal over counter-attitudinal or balanced news). Relying on a large survey-based experiment, we find that issue-specific engagement variables, including perceived issue understanding, issue importance, and issue attitude strength, predict interest-based and partisan selectivity above and beyond the influence of general political knowledge, news interest, and strength of political leanings. These results show that the drivers of selectivity are more complex than general political attributes; rather, they are contextual and reflect people's engagement with particular issues.

Language: en