Stimulating or Reinforcing Political Interest: Using Panel Data to Examine Reciprocal Effects Between News Media and Political Interest

TLDR

News media are thought to both reinforce existing political interest and stimulate new interest, but little research has compared television, print, and online outlets, and differences are linked to effort, attention, information‑sharing, and content diversity. This study investigates whether news media act merely as a tool for already interested individuals or can also stimulate political interest. Using simultaneous equation modeling on three‑wave panel data from the 2008–2009 American National Election Study, the authors assess each media type’s role in stimulating and reinforcing political interest. Television news primarily reinforces existing political interest, whereas online and print news more effectively stimulate new interest.

Abstract

Is the news media merely a tool for those already interested in politics, or can the news media stimulate interest in politics? While the news media likely serve both functions, little research has examined these dual functions and how television, print, and online news media differ in their performance of these functions. I use simultaneous equation modeling of 3-wave panel data from the American National Election Study (2008–2009) to examine the roles of different media in both stimulating and reinforcing political interest. The findings demonstrate that television news is a tool for those with prior interest in politics, more than a mechanism to influence levels of political interest. In contrast, online and print news can stimulate political interest to a greater degree than these media serve those with prior political interest. These differing relationships to political interest are explained in terms of the effort and attention required to use these news sources, their information-sharing capabilities, and their diversity of content.