Tuesday, May 12, 2015

In the Digital Age Americans Choose Their News Sources Based on Their Own Political Alignment


  • Research finds that people choose news outlets based on political alignment
  • Professor Spivey acknowledges this phenomenon and thinks that it has been around forever
  • He also does not think that there will ever been unbiased news sources
  • UMD student's main sources of news mostly match their political alignment

Many news outlets are attached with a label of a political alignment. Fox News is seen as right wing Republican while CNN and NBC are seen as left wing Democrat. But, how true is the idea that people choose their outlets of news based on how they identify politically? Research shows that the American public does in fact get their news from sources they believe aligns closely with their own political views.

Pew Research Supports The Idea That People Choose News Based on Political Alignment
The Pew Research Center did a study to look at how different political alignments get their information about government and politics. Overall, the study finds that liberals and conservatives get their information very differently from each other. The most compelling piece of evidence about consistent conservatives is that 47% get their news about politics from Fox News. The percentage decreased for Fox News as moving left on the political spectrum, supporting the idea that Americans choose their outlet based on political likeness. Consistent conservatives are also more likely to hear political opinions that are in line with their own on social media.

Consistent liberals have more of a range for main source of news about government and politics. 15% choose CNN followed by NPR at 13%. They trust more news sources than consistent conservatives do. Additionally, the study finds that they are more willing than conservatives to hear differing opinions with their own on social media.

An Expert Weighs in and Agrees that News Outlets Are Affiliated with Political Alignments
Professor Spivey from the Government and Politics Department at the University of Maryland discusses this idea of news sources swaying a certain way. When asked why different outlets are labeled with an alignment, he argues that this phenomenon is not new and has in fact been around for a very long time.


A Study Shows the Negative Consequences of News Selection for Our Future
Shanto Iyengar and Kyu S. Hahn did a study with selective exposure to examine how conservatives and liberals differ in news selection. Participants were given stories to choose from, each labeled with either Fox News, CNN, NPR, or no label. The study finds that conservatives dominantly choose Fox News even when the news is not politically based. Oppositely, liberals choose CNN and NPR but avoid Fox. The study concludes that to keep up with competition, news outlets are catering to the biases of their viewers.

Iyengar and Hahn discuss what the future will look like in terms of news choices. They say that technology is limiting people's political horizons since they can now customize the news they see. Additionally, they acknowledge that people will continue to go to their preferred source of news resulting in a less informed public.

Spivey Does Not Think We Can Have Unbiased News Sources
This research begs the question: what can be done to keep bias out of news sources and to keep people informed? When asked if it is possible to have unbiased and non-ideological news, Spivey says simply no it is not. He refers back to his first response and says since news has always been ideologically based, it will never not be.


University of Maryland Students Answer a Survey About Their News Habits
To see how my theory about news sources and political alignment effected our campus, I conducted a survey inquiring about student's news habits. My findings mostly supports the theory and the research studies that were previously mentioned.

I asked people to choose their main news source from a list or to write in their own answer. The last question asked his or her political alignment in order to compare the results. My research upholds the theory for Democrats, who were the majority of responders. The main source of news for Democrats ranged from CNN, NBC, and many others. Not a single Democrat chose Fox News as their main source of news.

Republicans on the other hand swayed from the theory and other research findings. While a few Republicans did choose Fox News as their main source, many also chose CNN, a typically Democratic source. However, since my survey did not get a very large response pool and most weren't Republican, this finding does not completely discredit the theory.

Conclusion is that Americans Choose News Sources with Their Own Views in Mind
The research findings along with survey results and expert responses shows that there is a clear trend in our public with news choices. People will choose a news outlet that they think aligns with their own views. It seems that with new technology, the correlation will only strengthen. This could have bad, negative impacts on our public and government. As Iyengar and Hahn say, people will be less informed. Additionally, they will be less willing to accept a differing opinion.

Although this tendency can be a problem, it is not an all encompassing trend. Some people do not fall into the categories the research discussed and will choose a news outlet that does not align with their views. This is evident in my survey results in which a few Republicans said CNN and not Fox News as their main source of news. Additionally, this is a trend that occurs most in distinct left wing and right wing people. Those in between and not so clearly on a side at all are less likely to stick to outlets only aligning with their views.

Overall, it is clear that the labels attached to news sources are accurate. Republicans feel comfortable sticking to Fox News while Democrats trust CNN and NPR. Research supports that this theory is a reality and that Americans will continue to choose their news based on their political alignment. 

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