Beiru (Isabelle) Ding Mass Communication Student, Louisiana State University

Bding1@lsu.edu or @Isabelleding
Jacob Irving Mass Communication Student, Louisiana State University
jirvin4@lsu.edu
Rosanne Scholl Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University
rscholl@lsu.edu or @RosanneScholl
Chance York Doctoral Student, Louisiana State University
cyork1@lsu.edu
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Beiru (Isabelle) Ding and Jacob Irving
(with co-authors Chance York, Jason Turcotte, Newly Paul, Mingxiao Sui, Emory Roane, Ray Pingree, Rosanne Scholl and Johanna Dunaway)
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This research uses an experiment to show a
relationship between polarized political news and
the level of information satiation. Our initial test
results indicate that respondents who received
news stories in which elites are polarized have a
higher level of information satiation than do those
who received news that describes bipartisanship.

N=368
This experiment used a sample of college students who were
given extra credit for participation through the Manship Schools
Media Effects Lab. N = 368 participants completed the study.
After a series of pretest questions, respondents were randomly
assigned a political news story to read. Both of the news stories
had 12 different versions. Half of the versions reported that
Republicans and Democrats in Congress were working together
to solve an issue. The other stories described a stark divide
between the parties on the mentioned issue. After reading the
story, respondents were asked another series of questions. Most
questions were measured on a ve or seven point Likert scale.
The dependent variable was measured as agreement with the
statement The article satised my need for
information. (1=Strongly disagree, 7=Strongly agree)
Data were analyzed using means comparison and an ANOVA.
Controls were included for manipulations that were not the focus
of this report.
Reading a political story in which elites are polarized
increases the mean of information satiation
compared to reading a bipartisan story.
News coverage is polarized. Moderate advocacy
groups get less prominent coverage (McCluskey &
Kim 2012). Consumers choose ideologically
consistant outlets (Lawrence, Sides & Farrell 2010;
Druckman, Fien &Lepper 2012), but those who do
so consistently may be more sophisticated about
politics (Stroud & Lee 2013).
Polarized news coverage, however might be
mobilizing, while coverage emphasizing
bipartisanship may make people complacent (Mutz
2006).
The public may not like it when elites are polarized,
but a lack of bipartisan consensus does affect
citizens policy opinions and candidates evaluations
(Arceneux 2008, Bullock 2011, Duckman, Peterson
& Slothuus 2013.) Druckman, Peterson & Slothuus
(2013) found that polarized news coverage
heightened the importance of party. In their study, a
simple mention of even one Congressional aisle-
crosser reduced the relationship of party and issue
attitude.

This study found that elite polarization in the
news increases citizens sense that they do not
need to know more about a variety of political
issues. Coverage that emphasizes
bipartisanship on the other hand is related to a
feeling of need for more information.
Congress is more polarized and there is a
market more polarized news, therefore less
bipartisanship will appear in the news in the
future. This is bad for democracy. If news
polarization continuous to increase, it will
decrease news consumption by the general
public. Journalists who wish to foster the desire
for more news should emphasize bipartisanship
where it exists.