American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Media Coverage of Immigration and the Polarization of Attitudes
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 17,
no. 1, January 2025
(pp. 337–68)
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 pre-existing prejudices, rather than persuasion effects from biased news consumption.Citation
Schneider-Strawczynski, Sarah, and Jérôme Valette. 2025. "Media Coverage of Immigration and the Polarization of Attitudes." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 17 (1): 337–68. DOI: 10.1257/app.20230300Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J18 Demographic Economics: Public Policy
- L82 Entertainment; Media
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