News Exposure Research Articles

Processing news on social media. The political incidental news exposure model (PINE)

This article outlines the Political Incidental News Exposure Model. The Political Incidental News Exposure Model understands incidental news exposure as a dynamic process and distinguishes two levels of incidental news exposure: the passive scanning of incidentally encountered political information (first level) and the intentional processing of incidentally encountered content appraised as relevant (second level). After encountering political information incidentally, recipients briefly check the content for relevance (i.e., first level). If content is appraised as relevant, recipients switch to more intensive processing (i.e., second level incidental news exposure). Importantly, second-level incidental news exposure is assumed to have stronger effects on political outcome variables like participation and knowledge than first-level incidental news exposure. The Political Incidental News Exposure Model further acknowledges intention-based (i.e., incidental news exposure while not looking for political news) and topic-based incidental news exposure (i.e., incidental news exposure while looking for other political news) and it conceptualizes incidental news exposure with respect to political and non-political content. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.

Political power sharing and crosscutting media exposure: how institutional features affect exposure to different views

Previous research shows that power-sharing political systems are associated with (a) individual perceptions of political inclusiveness and (b) a more deliberative news media supply. Little, however, is known about the effect of this institutional feature on exposure to crosscutting views through the media. We posit that political systems provide different degrees of institutional power and public visibility to political parties and minorities, and this difference affects crosscutting news exposure. Survey data from three countries ( N = 5,500 individuals) show that media contribute more to crosscutting exposure in a consensus system (Italy) than a polarized pluralist variant of majoritarianism (Spain), or a hegemonic illiberal democracy (Mexico). Additionally, analyses reveal that minority views are positively correlated with crosscutting media exposure in a consensus system and a polarized pluralist variant of majoritarianism, but not in a hegemonic system. These findings suggest that certain political system characteristics can override the tendency for selective exposure.

Attracting the news: Algorithms, platforms, and reframing incidental exposure

This article argues for new approaches to the study of incidental exposure that better account for the role of algorithms, platforms, and processes of datafication in shaping the likelihood of news exposure online. It offers a critique of three themes prominent in the incidental exposure literature: (1) incidental exposure connotes accidental exposure to news on social media, (2) news content is ubiquitous on social media, and (3) incidental exposure can be conceptually distinguished from intentional exposure to news on social media. This article proposes a new metaphor to reframe research on incidental exposure: ‘attraction’ to news.

Theorizing News Literacy Behaviors

AbstractDespite renewed interest in news literacy (NL) as a way to combat mis- and dis-information, existing scholarship is plagued by insufficient theory building and inadequate conceptualization of both “NL” and its application. We address this concern by offering a concise definition of NL and suggest five key knowledge and skill domains that comprise this literacy. We distinguish NL from its application to behaviors that communication scholars have been interested in, including news exposure, verification, and identifying misinformation. We propose an adapted Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to include NL in addition to the existing components (attitudes towards the behavior, social norms, perceived behavioral control) when modeling NL Behaviors. We discuss how this model can unite scholars across subfields and propose a research agenda for moving scholarship forward.

Studying incidental news: Antecedents, dynamics and implications

In light of concerns about decreasing news use, a decline in interest in political news or even active avoidance or resistance of news in general, the idea of ‘incidental news’ has been seen as a possible remedy. Generally, ‘incidental news’ refers to the ways in which people encounter information about current events through media when they were not actively seeking the news. However, scholars studying incidental news through different theoretical and methodological perspectives have been arriving at differing evaluations of the significance and implications of this phenomenon – to the extent of downright contradictory findings. This introductory piece posits the aim of this special issue on Studying Incidental News: a conceptual clarification of incidental news exposure. In this issue, scholars coming from different approaches, ranging from cognitive processing, ecological models, emergent practices and a focus on platform affordances, show how different theoretical perspectives help account for various dimensions of incidental news consumption, and thus help explain the often conflicting findings that have been suggested so far.

Testing the inadvertency hypothesis: Incidental news exposure and political disagreement across media platforms

The inadvertency hypothesis predicts that people encounter political difference in social media spaces not by design, but rather as a by-product of social media’s affordances and cultural logics. The hypothesis implies that incidental news exposure plays a central role in starting conversations from which perceived political disagreement may arise. Relying on a two-wave, online survey collected before and after the 2018 US Midterm Elections (N = 1493), this study builds on prior tests of the inadvertency hypothesis. It also elaborates on the hypothesis by comparing social media platforms. Results are supportive of the inadvertency hypothesis, more so for social networking sites such as Facebook than for other types of social media. Results are discussed in light of the study’s contribution to literature on social media and democracy.

Conceptualizing different forms of news processing following incidental news contact: A triple-path model

Research on incidental news exposure in the context of social media focuses on ‘successful’ incidental news exposure – when unintended news contacts result in active engagement and knowledge gains. However, we lack both theoretical and empirical approaches to the far more likely case that people keep on scrolling through their newsfeed without any post triggering active engagement. To fill this gap, the article conceptualizes a triple-path model of incidental news exposure on social media as a process. Building upon the Cognitive Mediation Model, dual system theories on information processing and recent empirical findings, three different pathways of incidental news processing are identified: automatic, incidental and active. The triple-path model thus allows to theorize the learning potentials that can plausibly be expected from each incidental news exposure path as a starting point for future research.

The Matthew Effect in social media news use: Assessing inequalities in news exposure and news engagement on social network sites (SNS)

Social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter have become a key part of online users’ news diets. On social network sites, even individuals who are not motivated to seek out news are believed to be exposed to news posts due to the sharing activities of friends or inadvertently witnessing discussions about current events. Research on this incidental news exposure (INE) has largely focused on its potential for positive effects on information gain or political participation, while simultaneously turning a blind eye to the inequalities in news exposure and engagement. This article aims to address this issue by proposing and explicating the existence of a ‘Matthew Effect’ in social media news use. It is argued that INE research needs to consider the unequal chances to both be exposed to news on social network sites and to actually engage (i.e. read and interact) with ‘accidentally’ encountered news content.

The ecology of incidental exposure to news in digital media environments

The profusion of information about current events in digital media makes it likely that individuals are exposed to news through the course of everyday life, even when they are not motivated to do so. Yet, such incidental news exposure and its consequences depend on a multitude of characteristics that are unique to individuals and the social and information environments they inhabit. This complexity makes it difficult to evaluate the broader democratic implications of incidental exposure. To address this challenge, we propose an ecological model that offers a more comprehensive framework for theorizing and studying incidental news exposure in digital media environments. The model organizes factors influencing incidental exposure into six ecological levels that span individual and environmental domains. It further distinguishes state-like factors (i.e. malleable, context-dependent) and trait-like factors (i.e. stable, context-independent). We demonstrate how the model can (1) better define types of incidental exposure, (2) theorize how factors can interact across levels to shape exposure and its consequences, and (3) identify promising areas for future research.

Identity, ideology, and personality: Examining moderators of affective polarization in New Zealand

Affective polarization (i.e., differences in evaluations of the in-party and out-party) has important implications for political outcomes including civic engagement and partisan-motivated attitudes and behaviours. In this study, we add to the burgeoning literature on affective polarization by examining moderators of the effect of in-party support on out-party opposition across the three main political parties in New Zealand. Using a large national probability sample of adults (N = 19,078), we assessed the effects of social demographics, Big-Five personality traits, liberal-conservative ideology, political identity centrality, and weekly news exposure on the relationship between in-party and out-party support. Results show political identity centrality is the strongest and most consistent moderator. The effects of some other moderators (e.g., personality, news exposure) are party-specific.

Women Voters’ Radio Exposure by Sociodemographics During the 2013 Kenya General Election Campaigns in Kakamega County: Implications for Policy and Broadcast Journalism

ABSTRACT Sociodemographics shape audience exposure to radio. However, it remains unclear whether these sociodemographics correlate with women voters’ radio exposure during elections in Kenya. Grounded in political mobilization, uses and gratification theories, this paper examines women voters’ exposure to political information on radio during the 2013 Kenya general election campaigns in Kakamega County. The study adopted a descriptive correlational survey based on data collected from women voters in six constituencies in Kakamega County using a questionnaire (N = 372). It was established that weekly political news exposure through radio for almost three-fifths (58.6%) of women voters was 12–56 h. Respondents’ radio exposure was statistically significantly and strongly linked to their age, marital status and level of education. Further, this radio exposure was statistically significantly and moderately associated with women voters’ employment status, income and residential location. Using these demographic data, this article explores research implications and recommends the adoption of policies and practices that can better harness the power of radio to reach women as voters in counties in Kenya.

Awareness of Spitzenkandidaten in the 2019 European elections: The effects of news exposure in domestic campaign contexts

With the introduction of the so-called Spitzenkandidaten procedure, by which European party families nominate lead candidates for the post of President of the European Commission for European elections, the European Parliament (EP) sought to raise voter awareness and engagement by personalizing the campaigns. This article studies candidate recognition with respect to Spitzenkandidaten, which is an important prerequisite in the study of personalization effects on voter behaviour. We use novel survey data collected in 10 European countries in the 2019 EP election campaign ( n = 17,027). The article focuses on the role of voters’ news exposure in various media and argues that news exposure is crucial for candidate recognition, but its effect is contingent upon the domestic campaign context. The article is the first to show that the campaign context matters to the extent that news exposure is particularly relevant in those domestic contexts in which Spitzenkandidaten were not previously present. In other campaign contexts additional news exposure adds little to the effect of news exposure on candidate recognition. The results have important implications for understanding EP election campaigns.

What Affects First- and Second-Level Selective Exposure to Journalistic News? A Social Media Online Experiment

ABSTRACT On social media, journalistic news products compete with entertainment-oriented and user-generated contents on two different stages of news use: First, users navigate their attention through a continuous stream of information in their newsfeed and, second, they potentially click on some of these posts to spend time with the actual full-contents. The present study conceptualizes these two types of news use behaviors in social media environments as first- and second-level selective exposure. Based on this new approach, we investigated main drivers of journalistic news exposure on both exposure levels in an online survey experiment before the German federal election in 2017 (N = 210). To achieve high ecological validity, we developed a Newsfeed Exposure Observer (NEO)-Framework to recreate realistic user settings for online experiments studying selective exposure in the digital era, where news posts are complemented by popularity cues like social endorsements or individual recommendations. Findings show that, at the first level of selective exposure, attention to journalistic news posts is particularly affected by political interest. However, the decision to click on posts in the newsfeed and to spend time with the linked contents seems more strongly driven by social factors than by individual predispositions.

The impact of news exposure on collective attention in the United States during the 2016 Zika epidemic.

In recent years, many studies have drawn attention to the important role of collective awareness and human behaviour during epidemic outbreaks. A number of modelling efforts have investigated the interaction between the disease transmission dynamics and human behaviour change mediated by news coverage and by information spreading in the population. Yet, given the scarcity of data on public awareness during an epidemic, few studies have relied on empirical data. Here, we use fine-grained, geo-referenced data from three online sources-Wikipedia, the GDELT Project and the Internet Archive-to quantify population-scale information seeking about the 2016 Zika virus epidemic in the U.S., explicitly linking such behavioural signal to epidemiological data. Geo-localized Wikipedia pageview data reveal that visiting patterns of Zika-related pages in Wikipedia were highly synchronized across the United States and largely explained by exposure to national television broadcast. Contrary to the assumption of some theoretical epidemic models, news volume and Wikipedia visiting patterns were not significantly correlated with the magnitude or the extent of the epidemic. Attention to Zika, in terms of Zika-related Wikipedia pageviews, was high at the beginning of the outbreak, when public health agencies raised an international alert and triggered media coverage, but subsequently exhibited an activity profile that suggests nonlinear dependencies and memory effects in the relation between information seeking, media pressure, and disease dynamics. This calls for a new and more general modelling framework to describe the interaction between media exposure, public awareness and disease dynamics during epidemic outbreaks.

Political news and happiness: the difference between traditional media and new media use

Traditional media (e.g., newspapers, radio, and television) and new media (e.g., the Internet, SNS, and mobile devices) are equally important in individuals’ access to political news about governmental performance and social problems. This study is aimed at examining the effects of political news media use on civil happiness. The mediation effects of public trust in government (GT) and their perceived social risks (PSR) are considered. Specifically, GT concerns people’s trust that government functions in the public interest and fulfills its promises, while PSR is individuals’ perception of the risks of social problems. A total of 3,561 samples were used in the final data analysis. In line with theoretical arguments, the empirical evidence showed that the influence of political news exposure through traditional media (PTMU) and new media use (PNMU) on happiness differed. For example, PTMU increased happiness by enhancing GT, but it was not the case in PNMU. PNMU decreased happiness by enhancing PSR; however, its effect on PTMU was insignificant. The results suggest that the accessibility of political news should be enhanced, and the level of public trust in the government should be increased to promote civil happiness.

Assessing the External Validity of Using News Websites as Experimental Stimuli

ABSTRACT As news is increasingly distributed online, studies of how people behave on news websites have become important tools in understanding news exposure. Numerous studies have created websites as stimuli, asked experimental subjects to browse the website, then inferred that their behavior in the experimental context resembles their behavior in a natural setting. The external validity of these studies, or the degree to which online behavior in an experiment can generalize outside of the experiment, remains unclear. This study explores the external validity of two such online experiments by comparing the results to field tests. Across two different experiments on a major Canadian and a major U.S. news website redesign, we find that results from the online experiment offered data that were directionally the same as the field tests. Our results suggest that online experiments can offer a generally reliable picture of actual online behavior.

Disaster experiences and terrorism news exposure: effects on perceptions of police and trust in local government in the United States

ABSTRACT Given inconsistency across studies, it remains unclear how direct and vicarious experience with disaster shape views of police and views of local government. This study investigated the views of those with direct disaster experiences as well as exposure to terrorism news. Data were collected with a nationwide, online survey of 520 U.S. adults administered in 2017. Results indicated that having a direct experience with disaster was unrelated to views of police or local government. Those with more frequent terrorism news exposure through print news had lower opinions of police; those with more frequent exposure through national television news had more positive views. More frequent exposure to terrorism news in print and through friends or family was both associated with more trust in local government. Arrest history was a strong and consistent predictor of trust in local government, but not of views of the police.

A model of opinion and propagation structure polarization in social media

The issue of polarization in online social media has been gaining attention in recent years amid the changing political landscapes of many parts of the world. Several studies empirically observed the existence of echo chambers in online social media, stimulating a slew of works that tries to model the phenomenon via opinion modeling. Here, we propose a model of opinion dynamics centered around the notion that opinion changes are invoked by news exposure. Our model comes with parameters for opinions and connection strength which are updated through news propagation. We simulate the propagation of multiple news under the model in synthetic networks and observe the evolution of the model’s parameters and the propagation structure induced. Unlike previous models, our model successfully exhibited not only polarization of opinion, but also segregated propagation structure. By analyzing the results of our simulations, we found that the formation probability of echo chambers is primarily connected to the news polarization. However, it is also affected by intolerance to dissimilar opinions and how quickly individuals update their opinions. Through simulations on Twitter networks, we found that the behavior of the model is reproducible across different network structure and sizes.

Surveys Underestimate Online News Exposure: A Comparison of Self-Reported and Observational Data in Nine Countries

Measures of news exposure are common in research that tries to explain political knowledge, political engagement, opinion formation and, more generally, media effects. Much of that research employs self-reported measures obtained with surveys, known to suffer from accuracy problems. Observational measures, however, also suffer from limitations – especially when mobile access is excluded from the analyses. Here we offer new insights on the nature of those problems in a comparative perspective. We show that commonly used self-report measures of digital news consumption are problematic for three reasons: these measures only pay attention to a small fraction of all available sources; they underestimate audience share; and they distort the relative position of news sites in visibility rankings. Measurement problems, however, also exist when mobile access is excluded from observational studies. Our analyses quantify the magnitude of these problems, offering unprecedented comparative evidence of online news consumption that spans nine countries and a period of five years. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research on news exposure.

Mitigating Infodemics: The Relationship between News Exposure and Trust and Belief in COVID-19 Fake News and Social Media Spreading

Background: Misinformation surrounding COVID-19 poses a global public health problem that adversely affects governments’ abilities to mitigate the disease and causes accidental deaths and self-harm due to false beliefs about the virus, prevention measures, vaccines and cures. We aim to examine the relationship between exposure to and trust in COVID-19 news (from Television, social media, interpersonal communication) and information sources (healthcare experts, government, clerics) and belief in COVID-19 myths and false information, as well as critical social media posting practices (verification before posting). Methods: We use a cross-sectional researcher-administered phone survey of adults between March 27 and April 23, 2020. Findings: The sample included 56.1% men, 37.9% with a university degree, 63.0% older than 30, and 7% with media literacy training. Those who trust COVID-19 news from social media [95%CI:(0.103-1.52)] and interpersonal communication [95%CI:(1.25-1.82)], and those who trust information from clerics [95%CI:(1.25-1.82)] were more likely to believe in COVID-19 myths and false information. University graduates [95%CI:(0.25-0.51)] and those who trust information from government [95%CI:(0.65-0.89] were less likely to believe in myths and false information. Those who believe in COVID-19 myths and false information [95%CI:(0.25-0.70)] were less likely to engage in critical social media posting practices. Only those who underwent media literacy training [95%CI:(1.24-6.55)] were more likely to engage in critical social media posting practices. Interpretation: Higher education and trust in information from government contributed to decreasing belief in COVID-19 myths and false information. Trust in news from social media, interpersonal communication and clerics contributed to increasing belief in COVID-19 myths and false information, which in turn contributed to less critical social media posting practices, thereby contributed to the infodemic. Media literacy training contributed to increasing critical social media posting practices, thereby played a role in mitigating the infodemic.Funding: German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).Declaration of Interests: All authors have no conflicts of interests nor financial interests to disclose.Ethics Approval Statement: IRB approved the study under protocol number LAU.SAS.JM1.20/Mar/2020.