Does the Media Matter? A Field Experiment Measuring the Effect of Newspapers on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions

Author(s): 

Alan S. Gerber, Dean Karlan, Daniel Bergan

ISPS ID: 
ISPS09-013
Full citation: 
Gerber, Alan S., Dean Karlan, Daniel Bergan (2009) "Does the Media Matter? A Field Experiment Measuring the Effect of Newspapers on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(2): 35–52.
Abstract: 
We conducted a field experiment to measure the effect of exposure to newspapers on political behavior and opinion. Before the 2005 Virginia gubernatorial election, we randomly assigned individuals to a Washington Post free subscription treatment, a Washington Times free subscription treatment, or control. We find no effect of either paper on political knowledge, stated opinions or turnout in post-election survey and voter data. However, receiving either paper led to more support for the Democratic candidate, suggesting that media slant mattered less in this case than media exposure. Some evidence also suggests that receiving either paper led to increased 2006 voter turnout.
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Link to article here.

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Location details: 
Virginia
Publication date: 
2009
Publication type: 
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