A general review and a summary of findings on media effects on voters

What is it about?

There are several ways in which media people use on a daily basis may influence their attitudes, values, or even voting behavior. In this paper, we provide a general overview on media effects on voters before introducing an extensive research project which investigated these effects between 2005 and 2017. While we do not find strong evidence for media content to change the opinions of individuals, we find stabilizing and activating media effects in various contexts.

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Why is it important?

Media are often viewed as a 'fourth estate', influencing politics without a public mandate and without any legitimity and responsibility. In this respect, it is important to investigate the concrete effects media may have on voters to be informed on the extent of power the media have in current democracies. Our findings suggest that media would have to employ huge, concerted and consensual campaigns to actually swing public opinion in a certain direction. Nevertheless, through information, mobilization, and confirmation of voters, media do have an impact on participation, public debate and opinion formation.