Selective Exposure and Partisan Echo Chambers in Television News Consumption: Evidence from Linked Viewership, Administrative, and Survey Data

Selective Exposure and Partisan Echo Chambers in Television News Consumption: Innovative Use of Data Yields Unprecedented Insights

‘Selective exposure’ changes viewers and warps our politics

The concept of selective exposure suggests that many people choose to isolate themselves in a media bubble because that constantly reinforces their views, in effect providing a defense against a complex, unstable world. On that measure, Broockman said, the new research is troubling.

If people were getting a diverse mix of political input, he explained, there would be natural checks on more extreme beliefs. On the other hand, if all Fox viewers and all liberal media viewers were strong partisans, the audience would be locked in. No one would need persuading.

Today, however, “we’re in what may be the worst possible world in regard to selective exposure,” he said. “A big chunk of the audience are these people who tilt a little bit to one side or the other, but there’s a lot of room left for them to become more extreme.

“A lot of research on selective exposure expresses the worry that, essentially, we could expect people’s initial biases to be strengthened by partisan media.”

In an environment shaped by collapsing local news sources, the rise of national partisan media and an audience increasingly segregated into hostile camps, political leaders have incentives to become more extreme, too. That’s especially prevalent on the right.

Thirty years ago, Broockman said, a politician could aim to be on the front page of the local newspaper or on local TV news. Over time, the politician might build up a national profile and be featured on network news and talk shows. Those programs usually held to the political center.

Today such options are substantially reduced, or gone.

“If you’re a Republican politician,” he said, “you know that a quarter of your voters are going to be watching at least eight hours a month of Fox News. And so, if you can be a guest on Fox News, there’s a good chance your constituents will see you. That might be better than spending your time trying to get into the local paper — if the local paper in your community even still exists.”

Echo chambers and the future of democracy

The authors make an important qualification: Most Republicans and most Democrats don’t watch partisan media. Plus, some Democrats do watch Fox, and some Republicans watch CNN or MSNBC. That may temper the formation of partisan echo chambers.

But the study doesn’t explore consumption of partisan radio, online sites and print publications, which has been the focus of other research. For that reason, Broockman said, the new study captures only some of the forces that may contribute to media-driven polarization.

The Dominion Voting Systems case against Fox may demonstrate what can happen when partisan media abandon conventional news values. The partisan echo chamber, in effect, feeds an alternate reality — with enormous costs to the nation.

“Concerns about partisan media’s potential to polarize the public cannot be easily dismissed,” Broockman and Kalla conclude. The research underscores “the need for policymakers and civil society leaders to continue to consider how the influence of partisan media on public opinion might be countered as part of a broader suite of potential interventions to strengthen American democracy.”

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Selective Exposure and Partisan Echo Chambers in Television News Consumption: Innovative Use of Data Yields Unprecedented Insights

‘Selective exposure’ changes viewers and warps our politics

Echo chambers and the future of democracy

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