Effects of Watching Election News Coverage
Television News Exposure and Changes in Vote Choice During the 2010 Upper House Election in Japan
2018 Volume 34 Issue 2 Pages 72-87
Details
2018 Volume 34 Issue 2 Pages 72-87
The current study re-investigates the question that whether media exposure influences vote choice. To overcome methodological limitations, this study combines media content analysis with individual media exposure data measured in a representative national election panel survey. Results reveal that voters’ vote choice is affected by watching television election news coverage: Greater exposure to negative news coverage about the party that voters intended to vote for increases changes in actual vote choice. Aligning with previous studies conducted under the U.S., British, and Mexican contexts, this finding provides another piece of empirical evidence to demonstrate that media exposure could have a direct impact on voting preferences, which makes this study meaningful to both Japanese media effect studies and the relevant research domains in the world.
