Work

Media Coverage of Immigration and the Polarization of Attitudes

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of media coverage on immigration attitudes. It combines data on immigration coverage in French television with individual panel data from 2013 to 2017 that records respondents' preferred television channel and attitudes toward immigration. The analysis focuses on within-individual variations over time, addressing ideological self-selection into channels. We find that increased coverage of immigration polarizes attitudes, with initially moderate individuals becoming more likely to report extremely positive and negative attitudes. This polarization is mainly driven by an increase in the salience of immigration, which reactivates preexisting prejudices, rather than persuasion effects from biased news consumption. (JEL D83, D91, J15, J18, L82)

Source: American Economic Journal Applied Economics

DOI: 10.1257/app.20230300

Authors: Sarah Schneider-Strawczynski, Jérôme Valette

Language: English

Topic: Migration, Refugees, and Integration

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Agence Nationale de la Recherche

Awards: The role of intergroup contact in political reactions to immigration: Quantitative analyses from across Europe, G2659019386, G426653549, G6803667113, MIGRATIONS