Congenial Public, Contrary Press, and Biased Estimates of the Climate of Opinion

Partisan Differences in Opinionated News Perceptions: A Test of the Hostile Media Effect

“…The relative hostile media perception (Gunther et al 2001) relaxes this assumption, making it applicable to news that is slanted in favor of or against a particular issue. In the presence of a relative hostile media effect, supporters and opponents of a given issue perceive bias in the same direction (i.e., leaning toward one side), but each group perceives coverage as significantly more unfavorable to their own position relative to those in the other group.…”

The Effects of Exemplification on Perceptions of News Credibility

“…A type of third-person effect is thought to undergird this process. Individuals with strong ties to a social group or with strong attitudes toward a particular side of an issue (hereafter, partisans) believe that a news story with negative information about a favored group or viewpoint will be read by many other vulnerable news consumers, who will be highly influenced by the content and who will subsequently develop more negative opinions of the group or viewpoint (Christen & Gunther, 2003;Gunther & Christen, 2002;Gunther, Christen, Liebhart, & Chia, 2001;Perloff, 1989). This fear of public opinion change typically results in a Hostile Media Phenomenon.…”

Beyond Vox Pop: The Role of News Sourcing and Political Beliefs in Exemplification Effects

“…To test the ability of news media exemplars to influence perceptions of public opinion on PPACA, participants are asked, "What percentage of Americans do you think opposed the health care bill when it was passed by Congress?" Following other research on perceptions of public opinion (e.g., Gunther, Christen, Liebhart, & Chia, 2001), Ideology comes from ANES data December 7-13, 2011. Although the American National Election Studies also uses a 7-point scale, the wording of the response options is slightly different, with "Very Liberal/Conservative," "Somewhat Liberal/Conservative," and "Closer to Liberals/Conservatives.".…”