Niche News : The Politics of News Choice

Fox News, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Rush Limbaugh Show, National Public Radio-with so many options, where do people turn for news? In Niche News, Natalie Stroud investigates how people navigate these choices and the political implications that their choice ultimately entails. By combining an analysis of the various news formats that citizens rely on with innovative surveys and experiments, she offers the most comprehensive look to date at the extent to which partisanship influences our media selections. At the heart of Niche News is the concept of "partisan selective exposure," a behavior that leads individuals to select news sources that match their own views. This phenomenon helps explain the political forces at work behind media consumption. Just as importantly, she finds that selective exposure also influences how average citizens engage with politics in general. On one hand, citizens may become increasingly divided as a result of using media that coheres with their political beliefs; on the other hand, partisan selective exposure may encourage participation. Ultimately, Stroud reveals just how intimately connected the mainstream media and the world of politics really are, a conclusion with significant implications for the practice of American democracy. Book jacket. CONTENTS......Page 10 1. Partisans Make the News......Page 14 2. Selective Exposure in Theory and in Practice......Page 25 3. Using Niche News......Page 52 4. Learning Partisan Selectivity......Page 98 5. Partisan Involvement and Selective Exposure......Page 129 6. The Heart of the Issue: Partisan Media and the Problems Facing the Nation......Page 153 7. Partisanship and Niche News......Page 180 APPENDIX A: THE NATIONAL ANNENBERG ELECTION SURVEYS......Page 198 APPENDIX B: KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS STUDY......Page 208 APPENDIX C: TECHNICAL DETAILS FROM CHAPTER 3......Page 212 APPENDIX D: TECHNICAL DETAILS FROM CHAPTER 4......Page 231 APPENDIX E: TECHNICAL DETAILS FROM CHAPTER 5......Page 245 APPENDIX F: TECHNICAL DETAILS FROM CHAPTER 6......Page 253 C......Page 262 E......Page 263 K......Page 264 N......Page 265 P......Page 266 T......Page 267 Z......Page 268 Fox News, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Rush Limbaugh Show, National Public Radio - with so many options, where do people turn for news? In 'Niche News', Natalie Stroud investigates how people navigate these choices and the political implications that their choice ultimately entails. By combining an analysis of the various news formats that citizens rely on with innovative surveys and experiments, she offers the most comprehensive look to date at the extent to which partisanship influences our media selections. At the heart of Niche News is the concept of "partisan selective exposure," a behavior that leads individuals to select news sources that match their own views. This phenomenon helps explain the political forces at work behind media consumption Fox News, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal The Rush Limbaugh Show, National Public Radio - with so many options, where do people turn for news? This book examines the extent to which our political leanings guide our news selections and whether likeminded news use is democratically consequential.