Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16233
Authors: Andrey Simonov; Justin Rao
Abstract: We examine the nature of consumer demand for government-controlled online news outlets in Russia, testing whether such demand reflects a preference for pro-government ideological coverage, or other factors unrelated to outlets' ideological positions. We detect government-sensitive topics and measure outlets' news reporting decisions from news article texts, and estimate a structural model of demand for news using detailed browsing data that traces individual-level consumption. The average consumer has a distaste for pro-government ideology but a strong persistent taste for state-owned outlets, primarily driven by third-party referrals and non-sensitive news content. We discuss implications for online media control and media power.
Keywords: media; media capture; censorship; demand for news; product differentiation; text as data
JEL Codes: C11; C55; D72; L15; L82; L86; M31; P26
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Consumer Preference for State-Owned Outlets (D11) | Preference driven by third-party referrals and non-sensitive news content (M37) |
| Sensitive News Reporting (Y50) | Consumer Preference for Independent Outlets (L81) |
| Sensitive News Events (G14) | Shift in Consumer Behavior (D16) |