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Primetime Spin: Media Bias and Belief Confirming Information
Author(s) -
Burke Jeremy
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of economics and management strategy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.672
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1530-9134
pISSN - 1058-6407
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-9134.2008.00189.x
Subject(s) - competition (biology) , confirmation bias , media bias , welfare , advertising , media coverage , information source (mathematics) , psychology , business , internet privacy , economics , social psychology , computer science , political science , sociology , law , mathematics , ecology , statistics , politics , market economy , media studies , biology
This paper develops a model of media bias in which rational agents acquire all their news from the source that is most likely to confirm their prior beliefs. Despite only wishing to make the correct decision, agents act as if they enjoy receiving news that supports their preconceptions. By exclusively gathering information from a source biased towards his prior, there is little chance an agent will be persuaded to change his mind. Moreover, it is shown that even an unbiased agent prefers to receive biased news as it is unlikely to produce conflicting reports. The media caters to the informational demands of consumers and accordingly slants its reporting. It is shown that competition may not decrease bias, but may actually enhance it. Finally, even when it increases bias, competition may improve welfare by expanding the market for news.