Working Paper: NBER ID: w17263
Authors: Riccardo Puglisi; James M. Snyder Jr.
Abstract: We propose a new method for measuring the relative ideological positions of newspapers, voters, interest groups, and political parties. The method uses data on ballot propositions. We exploit the fact that newspapers, parties, and interest groups take positions on these propositions, and the fact that citizens ultimately vote on them. We find that, on average, newspapers in the U.S. are located almost exactly at the median voter in their states. Newspapers also tend to be centrist relative to interest groups.
Keywords: media bias; newspapers; voters; political parties; ideological positions
JEL Codes: D72; L82
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| newspaper endorsements (D79) | voter behavior (K16) |
| newspapers' ideological positions (P16) | proximity to median voter (D79) |
| newspapers are more moderate than interest groups (D72) | newspapers' endorsements are less ideological (D72) |
| newspapers' endorsements (D79) | ideological distribution (D30) |
| newspapers are closer to the median voter (D72) | systematic leftward bias in U.S. newspapers (P17) |