Cross‐National versus individual‐level differences in political information: a media systems perspective

Iyengar, S, Curran, J, Lund, A, Salovaara‐Moring, I, Hahn, K and Coen, S ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4632-1929 2010, 'Cross‐National versus individual‐level differences in political information: a media systems perspective' , Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties, 20 (3) , pp. 291-309.

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Abstract

We propose a context-dependent approach to the study of political information. Combining a content analysis of broadcast news with a national survey measuring public awareness of various events, issues, and individuals in the news, we show that properties of national media systems influence both the supply of news and citizens’ awareness of events in the news. Public service-oriented media systems deliver hard news more frequently than market-based systems. It follows that for citizens living under public service regimes, the opportunity costs of exposure to hard news are significantly lowered. Lowered costs allow less interested citizens to acquire political knowledge. Our analyses demonstrate that the knowledge gap between the more and less interested is widest in the US and smallest in Scandinavia.

Item Type:	Article
Themes:	Media, Digital Technology and the Creative Economy
Schools:	Schools > School of Health Sciences Schools > School of Arts & Media > Arts, Media and Communication Research Centre
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis
Refereed:	Yes
ISSN:	1745-7289
Funders:	Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Depositing User:	S Coen
Date Deposited:	12 Nov 2012 15:49
Last Modified:	16 Feb 2022 14:36
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/27293

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