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conservative talk radio can significantly persuade even ideologically-entrenched listeners to
voice more conservative views on several social and economic issues. And, Fox News is one
television news source that has been argued to present political messages in a manner similar to
Rush Limbaugh (Hollander 2004).
A second possible effect is perceived polarization. As with more engaged citizens,
disengaged individuals may observe the harsh rhetoric and condemnation of the political
opposition and perceive that political elites are further apart from each other than they may
actually be in reality. The perception of a harshly polarized political landscape, however, may be
more influential on the less-engaged citizens. Politically aware and engaged individuals will
continue to stay involved in the political process even if they perceive polarization or are
polarized themselves. Those who are inclined not to be involved, like news grazers, may
become less apt to engage in the process if they perceive such a harsh environment (see
Ansolabehere and Iyengar 1995).
Of course, news does not necessarily have to be ideologically-oriented to prompt
responses from the audience. CNN and Fox News especially have increasingly become the
targets of criticism regarding their overall leanings to the left and right respectively. As
mentioned earlier, data indicate that the audiences have become more politically polarized, and
there has been a great deal of rhetoric in the popular press of how bias persists amongst these
news sources. In this regard, the perception of bias can drive political attitudes even when actual
evidence of bias may be lacking or inconclusive, creating a hostile-media effect (Dalton, Beck,
and Huckfeldt 1998; Eveland and Shah 2003; Vallone, Ross, and Lepper 1985). In this regard, it
is possible that merely watching coverage on Fox News or CNN will sharpen stereotypical
perceptions of the political opposition and the news media in general
Convention