A media platform can have a significant impact on the individual perspective and knowledge about the world. From my perspective, the study results indicate causation between the source of news and knowledge. While intervening variables can be the ideological stance of the viewer, the more the news platform is ideologically pitched, the less educational value it has. Thus, the most helpful decision for American citizens is to watch neutral news media outlets.
Partisan sources have the most negative impact on the awareness of the current events of citizens because they provide biased and often false information. As the research indicates, people who watched ideologically pitched news platforms such as MSNBC and Fox News did worse in current events than those who watched neural sources such as NPR (Woolley & Jenkins, 2012). The primary incentive of MSNBC and Fox News platforms is to deliver the information that their audience wants to hear, even if it is not the correct one. The more the news is pleasant for the audience, the more viewers prefer to listen to the same outlet the next time, thus, increasing the profit for such platforms.
The intervening variable can be the individual’s political-ideological position. Research shows that liberal people had done better than conservatives at current international events when listening to MSNBC or more neutral platforms such as Talk Radio. The potential explanation for the higher performance of liberals can be the idea that they tend to be more open to new information, even if it is unpleasant. Meanwhile, conservatives often prefer to stick to their personal beliefs and are less adaptable to new perspectives. For instance, the liberal, progressive people are represented disproportionately more in academia than conservative people (Shields & Dunn, 2016).
However, the educational benefit of being liberal is compromised if the news source is ideologically pitched. Thus, the ideological stance of the individual can influence the perception of information, but it is not the only causal factor.
Therefore, the study indicates that the political bias of the news source can significantly impact the quality of information. The ideological stance of the viewer can also play an intervening but not decisive role in the likelihood of receiving correct information. Thus, regardless of their religion or political perspective, American citizens should attempt to interpret news from neutral news platforms.
References
Shields, J. A., & Dunn, J. M. (2016). Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the progressive university. Oxford University Press.
Woolley, P., & Jenkins, K. (2012). What you know depends on what you watch: Current events knowledge across popular news sources.