Testing the Effect of Cross-cutting Exposure to Cable TV News on Affective Polarization: Evidence from the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

ABSTRACT

This study tests whether the consequences of cross-cutting exposure (CCE) to political news on affective polarization depend on the type of media individuals consume. Findings from the 2020 American National Election Studies panel data suggest that CCE to cable TV news, a medium frequently described as uncivil, may increase negative affect toward the out-party candidate, and that such effect may be mediated by feelings of anger and certainty in one’s political attitudes. These insights draw attention to elite incivility, in addition to citizens’ partisan predispositions, as a potential contributor to the growing affective divide in American politics.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ For alternative approaches to measuring political news use, see, Prior (2013).

² The models were re-tested using the “total number of cable TV programs viewed” instead of the proportion measures. The significance of the initial findings remained unchanged.

Additional information

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article

Notes on contributors

Hyungjin Gill

Hyungjin Gill (M.A. University of Missouri-Columbia) is a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His research centers on political communication, with a specific focus on examining the effect of social interactions on political information evaluations and public opinion perceptions.