The Role of Partisan Sources and Audiences' Involvement in Bias Perceptions of Controversial News |
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| Authors: | Mihee Kim |
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| Institution: | Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea |
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| Abstract: | Based on the hostile media effect (HME), this 2 (audiences' opinion) × 2 (partisan source) × 2 (news valence) factorial experiment (N = 229) investigated the effects of partisan sources and audiences' different types of involvement on bias perceptions of slanted news coverage regarding a controversial issue. The results show that participants rated a news article, regardless of its valence (congruent vs. incongruent), as less biased when it was attributed to a partisan source that was consistent with their own position than when it came from a partisan source that was inconsistent with their position. Moderating effects of value-relevant involvement on the source effects were found. The effects of partisan sources on bias perceptions were only significant among those with moderate or high levels of value-relevant involvement. The implications of the source effects and the role of value-relevant involvement as a moderator of such effects were discussed. |
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