In democratic systems, informed citizens are essential for effective voting. This study investigates how media bias in news coverage affects voter knowledge about party positions.
Citizens typically receive political information indirectly through the news rather than directly from parties. The research explores asymmetric information problems caused by biased emphasis in news reporting.
The findings suggest that exposure to partisan-leaning news actually increases citizens' understanding of specific party platforms, even though such bias creates an uneven knowledge landscape. This effect occurs partly because biased coverage draws attention to particular issues and frames them within their respective political context.
Interestingly, the study shows that information in non-quality news sources may be more effective at reducing voter knowledge deficits than content from quality outlets, challenging assumptions about media credibility.
| Knowing More from Less: How the Information Environment Increases Knowledge of Party Positions was authored by Susan Banducci, Sylvia Kritzinger and Heiko Giebler. It was published by Cambridge in BJPS in 2017. |
