The Role of Perceptions of Media Bias in General and Issue-Specific Political Participation

Despite a large body of literature documenting factors influencing general political participation, research has lagged in understanding what motivates participation regarding specific issues. Our research fills this gap by examining the interplay of perceptions of media bias, trust in government, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mass communication & society 2011-05, Vol.14 (3), p.343-374
Main Authors: Ho, Shirley S., Binder, Andrew R., Becker, Amy B., Moy, Patricia, Scheufele, Dietram A., Brossard, Dominique, Gunther, Albert C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bias
Effectiveness
Genetic Engineering
Indexes (Measures)
Mass Media
Mass Media Effects
Media coverage
Participation
Perceptions
Political behavior
Political Participation
Programming (Broadcast)
Surveys
Trust
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Summary:Despite a large body of literature documenting factors influencing general political participation, research has lagged in understanding what motivates participation regarding specific issues. Our research fills this gap by examining the interplay of perceptions of media bias, trust in government, and political efficacy on individuals' levels of general and issue-specific political participation. Using survey data with indicators related to general political participation, our results demonstrate that perceptions of media bias overall are negatively related to general political participation. Moreover, this relationship is an indirect one, mediated by trust in government and political efficacy. Using survey data with indicators of issue-specific political participation in the context of stem cell research, our results show that-contrary to the relationship found for general political participation-perceptions of media bias are directly and positively associated with issue-specific participation. Implications for political participation and media bias theories are discussed.
ISSN:1520-5436
1532-7825
DOI:10.1080/15205436.2010.491933