Hostile Media and the Campaign Trail: Perceived Media Bias in the Race for Governor

Abstract

Past research on the hostile media effect (HME) indicates that partisans are prone to evaluate media content as relatively biased against their own position. The present study investigates the progression of the HME within the context of a statewide gubernatorial campaign. A 3-wave panel study is used to trace the existence of the HME, as well as the effect's relationship to other key public opinion indicators. Results indicate that although the HME did exist in terms of respondents' perceptions of biased media coverage, its subsequent impact on perceived public opinion was minimal when compared with individual biases, such as respondents projecting their own opinions when considering the views of others. Implications are presented and discussed.