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Increased Media Choice and Political Knowledge Gaps: A Comparative Longitudinal Study of 18 Established Democracies 1995-2015
[journal article]
Abstract We investigate the often-stated, but disputed claim in the political science and political communication literature that increasing media choice widens inequalities in political knowledge. The assumption is that in a high-choice media environment, the politically interested will consume more news wh... view more
We investigate the often-stated, but disputed claim in the political science and political communication literature that increasing media choice widens inequalities in political knowledge. The assumption is that in a high-choice media environment, the politically interested will consume more news while the uninterested will avoid such content, leading, in turn, to widening differences in political knowledge. Although previous studies show that high media choice increases political knowledge gaps in the United States, comparative longitudinal evidence is currently lacking. To fill this gap, we draw on data from four rounds of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. Overall, we do not find general support for the high-choice knowledge gap thesis. In most countries, there is no indication that inequality in political knowledge has increased over time. Building on recent insights from political communication research, we question key assumptions of the high choice knowledge gap thesis.... view less
Keywords
knowledge gap; knowledge; news; inequality; political communication; media skills
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Impact Research, Recipient Research
Free Keywords
political knowledge; high choice; increasing political knowledge inequality; news avoidance; Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES)
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 731-750
Journal
Political Communication, 38 (2021) 6
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2020.1868633
ISSN
1091-7675
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0