Attention to news media coverage of unconventional oil/gas development impacts: Exploring psychological antecedents and effects on issue support

Abstract

Research has examined media portrayals of unconventional oil and gas development's (UOGD) economic and environmental impacts. We examine how selective attention to media coverage of the impacts impact issue attitudes; the role of political ideology in driving such attention; and how this political divide emerges via selective attention to aforementioned content. We contribute to existing work on media attention antecedents and outcomes but with a hitherto unexplored focus on specific issue dimensions that have garnered media and public attention. We explore these relationships using U.S. national survey data (n = 700). We find that political ideology is not associated with attention to coverage of economic impacts, but such attention is predictive of higher UOGD support. Moreover, political ideology is associated with attention to coverage of environmental impacts (more conservative → less attention), and such attention predicts lower support. This indirect effect was also statistically meaningful. Overall, UOGD news media discourse (and attention thereto) has important energy policy implications.