How Elite Attacks on the Media Shape Political Communication

• In Event: Traditional News Industry Changes and Their Political Consequences

Abstract

Elite attacks on mainstream news have undermined trust in the national, institutional press. However, less is known about what happens in the aftermath of attacks that damage a news outlet's reputation. We use two original experiments to assess the downstream effects of successful attacks on the media. Our experiments distinguish two channels through which changes in media outlet reputations have been hypothesized to alter political communication, either by changing where the public gets their news or how they respond to news coverage they encounter. We find elite attacks on the press operate primarily by deterring the public from consuming information from the targeted news outlet, rather than by eliminating the ability of the source to influence public opinion if the public were to encounter its news coverage. Together, our results build on the literature examining the nature and reputational effects of elite attacks on the media and speak to the ways in which such rhetoric affects downstream news use and political learning.

Authors

• Erik Peterson, Rice University

• Allison M.N. Archer, University of Houston

• Kishan Bhakta, Rice University

• Sho Izumisawa