The Reciprocal Effects Between Political Interest and TV News Revisited: Evidence From Four Panel Surveys. (June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Strömbäck, Jesper; Shehata, Adam
• Is Part Of: Journalism & mass communication quarterly. Volume 96:Number 2(2019:Jun.)
• Page Start: 473
• Page End: 496
• Publication Date: 2019-06
• Subjects: political interest -- reinforcing spirals -- TV news; Journalism -- Periodicals; Mass media -- Periodicals; Communication -- Periodicals; Journalism -- United States -- Periodicals; Journalism -- Bibliography -- Periodicals; 070
• DOI: 10.1177/1077699018793998
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1077-6990

Abstract

Although research shows that there is a correlation between political interest and news media use, whether there are reciprocal effects between political interest and news media use remain unsettled. To remedy this and go beyond previous research, this study seeks to investigate the reciprocal relationship between political interest and TV news use (a) across elections, (b) across election periods and a nonelection period, and (c) comparing public service and commercial TV news. Using four representative panel surveys, findings show that there is a reciprocal relationship between political interest and watching public service but not commercial TV news.