Work

Projection in journalists’ perceptions of public opinion

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Journalists’ perceptions of public opinion influence their reporting. Yet, the factors driving these public opinion perceptions are not well understood. This study examines one such potential factor, namely the impact of journalists’ own policy opinions on their estimations of public opinion. Concretely, we identify which journalists are more susceptible to such so-called social projection . Moreover, we investigate which factors moderate the relationship between own opinion and perceived public opinion. Drawing on unique survey data from political journalists in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, we demonstrate that journalists’ own policy opinions are indeed correlated with their public opinion estimations. Moreover, we find that journalists whose political opinions tend to the right are more likely to perceive public opinion in line with their own opinion. Finally, our findings indicate that journalists project less when estimating public opinion on policies within their news beats, and they project less when they perceive public opinion on a policy issue as ambiguous. We discuss the implications of our findings for journalism as a profession.

Source: Journalism

DOI: 10.1177/14648849251346198

Authors: Fabian Prochazka, Karolin Soontjens, Kathleen Beckers, David Nicolas Hopmann, Andreas Schuck

Institutions: University of Erfurt, University of Antwerp, University of Amsterdam, University of Southern Denmark

Language: English

Topic: Media Studies and Communication

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900

Funder: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek