Disentangling Economic News Effects: The Impact of Tone, Uncertainty, and Issue on Public Opinion

Authors

  • Alyt Damstra University of Amsterdam

Keywords:

economic news, media effects, negativity bias, economic issues, experiment

Abstract

This study examines the effects of economic news on people’s self-reported interest and their evaluations of the national economy while distinguishing among the tone of the content, the level of uncertainty with which economic information is presented, and the issues covered in the news. Analyses of experimental data (N = 2,168) show that negative news about inflation is consumed with the most interest. Also, the negative effect of bad economic news on people’s economic evaluations is strongest among news consumers who are most interested in the news. The results challenge conventional wisdom about the moderating role of issue obtrusiveness in media effects research. Furthermore, the focus on interactions reveals that typical economic news features shape public opinion not only in isolation and but even more so when their impacts are combined.

Author Biography

Alyt Damstra, University of Amsterdam

Alyt Damstra is a PhD candidate at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on the production, content and effects of economic news coverage. In addition, she studies the role of the news media in the rise and electoral successes of populist political parties. Recent work is published in international, peer-reviewed journals such as Communication Research, Political Communication, Mass Communication and Society, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, and Journalism Studies.   

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Published

2019-10-13

Issue

Vol. 13 (2019)

Section

Articles

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