Questioning the Selective Exposure to News: Understanding the Impact of Social Networks on Political News Consumption

Abstract

Within the current hybrid media system, in which the “old” and “new” media coexist, the role of social networks in the consumption of news has become increasingly important in recent years. Previous research has highlighted the importance and the transformational potential of user interactions in social networks in the traditional news cycle, when exchanging or discussing content related to news or public affairs, jeopardizing the traditional hegemony of the journalists and media as gatekeepers of public affairs. Our research follows a mixed methodological approach (survey plus focus groups) that reach relevant conclusions that expands the body of research about the role of news sites and social networks within the formulation of public opinion and its effects on audiences and journalism. Results showed how news sites and social networks, through links posted by friends, relatives, or acquaintances, facilitate people to access news outside their usual patterns of news consumption. Social networks, in this way, could break with the preestablished dynamics of selective exposure of individuals.