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This study explores the effects of personal opinion and perceived media content on individuals' assessments of public opinion, as well as the curious phenomenon that, although people perceive public agreement with their own point of view, they tend to see press coverage as disagreeable. One hypothesis, based on theories of projection of personal opinion, predicts that people will see public opinion as much like their own, but a contrary outcome is suggested by 2 interrelated hypotheses, the hostile media effect and the persuasive press inference. Data were collected on 4 issues from a large, representative national sample and provided evidence for all 3 effects. Projection received the most consistent support, but findings indicate that this assimilation effect can be substantially offset by media coverage seen as both disagreeable and influential.

This research examines the hypothesis that people infer public opinion by relying on their own subjective assessments of media content, such as perceived news slant, coupled with their own presumptions about the effects of such content on others. The hypothesis was tested with an experimental design manipulating story slant and base rate information for two issues. Results supported the persuasive press inference, even when content included base rate information contrary to story slant. However, there was some evidence that for some types of news stories the projection of personal opinion might diminish the direct effect of slant.