Review of Economic Studies Vol. 78 No. 2 2011
A Spatial Theory of Media Slant and Voter Choice
Abstract
We develop a theory of media slant as a systematic filtering of political news that reduces multidimensional politics to the one-dimensional space perceived by voters. Economic and political choices are interdependent in our theory: expected electoral results influence economic choices, and economic choices in turn influence voting behaviour. In a two-candidate election, we show that media favouring the front-runner will focus on issues unlikely to deliver a surprise, while media favouring the underdog will gamble for resurrection. We characterize the socially optimal slant and show that it coincides with the one favoured by the underdog under a variety of circumstances. Balanced media, giving each issue equal coverage, may be worse for voters than partisan media.
- DOI
- 10.1093/restud/rdq009
- Volume
- 78
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 640-666
- Language
- en
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref