Loud and Clear: Effects of Homogenous and Extreme Partisan Media Diets

Abstract

Though the explosion of cable television and talk-radio programming allows individuals to select opinionated media from only one side of the political spectrum, most Americans consume a mix of programming, with varying degrees of bias across the ideological spectrum. Research on partisan media typically evaluates the independent effects of likeminded, crosscutting and neutral exposure in isolation, yet the effects of media consumption likely depend on an individual's overall media diet in aggregate. The ambiguity of theoretical approaches regarding mixed media diets suggests the need for empirical research. One line of reasoning predicts that slanted diets will generate more extreme attitudes and greater participation than evenhanded diets, while a second line of reasoning predicts the opposite. We test the effects of media diet composition on issue attitudes and campaign participation using the 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey (NAES). To do so, we construct of novel measure of the relative balance of each respondent's media diet based on questions about their consumption of 73 different entertainment and news programs. Within-subjects and matching analyses indicate that slanted media diets increase campaign participation, but not issue polarization. This article provides a theoretical and empirical basis for future research on the political effects of real-world media consumption.