Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: a Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge

Laia Castro; Jesper Strömbäck; Frank Esser; Peter Van Aelst; Claes de Vreese; Toril Aalberg; Ana S. Cardenal; Nicoleta Corbu; David Nicolas Hopmann; Karolina Koc-Michalska; Jörg Matthes; Christian Schemer; Tamir Sheafer; Sergio Splendore; James Stanyer; Agnieszka Stępińska; Václav Štětka; Yannis Theocharis

doi:10.1177/19401612211012572

Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: a Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge

Laia Castro^*, Jesper Strömbäck, Frank Esser, Peter Van Aelst, Claes de Vreese, Toril Aalberg, Ana S. Cardenal, Nicoleta Corbu, David Nicolas Hopmann, Karolina Koc-Michalska, Jörg Matthes, Christian Schemer, Tamir Sheafer, Sergio Splendore, James Stanyer, Agnieszka Stępińska, Václav Štětka, Yannis Theocharis

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

The transition from low- to high-choice media environments has had far-reaching implications for citizens’ media use and its relationship with political knowledge. However, there is still a lack of comparative research on how citizens combine the usage of different media and how that is related to political knowledge. To fill this void, we use a unique cross-national survey about the online and offline media use habits of more than 28,000 individuals in 17 European countries. Our aim is to (i) profile different types of news consumers and (ii) understand how each user profile is linked to political knowledge acquisition. Our results show that five user profiles – news minimalists, social media news users, traditionalists, online news seekers, and hyper news consumers – can be identified, although the prevalence of these profiles varies across countries. Findings further show that both traditional and online-based news diets are correlated with higher political knowledge. However, online-based news use is more widespread in Southern Europe, where it is associated with lower levels of political knowledge than in Northern Europe. By focusing on news audiences, this study provides a comprehensive and fine-grained analysis of how contemporary European political information environments perform and contribute to an informed citizenry.

Original language	American English
Pages (from-to)	827-859
Number of pages	33
Journal	International Journal of Press/Politics
Volume	27
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211012572
State	Published - Oct 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for improving this manuscript. We are also grateful to participants of the IJPP virtual conference 2020 for their comments and suggestions. This project was financially supported by the Network of European Political Communication Scholars (NEPOCS). Data collection in Denmark was supported by the University of Southern Denmark. The collection of data in Hungary and Poland was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/S01019X/1]. The collection of the data in France was supported by an Audencia Foundation grant. The collection of data in Sweden was supported by the research project “Knowledge resistance: causes, consequences, cures”, funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. Yannis Theocharis would like to acknowledge the support of the ZeMKI Lenkungskreis which generously contributed to funding this research.

Funding Information:
This project was financially supported by the Network of European Political Communication Scholars (NEPOCS). Data collection in Denmark was supported by the University of Southern Denmark. The collection of data in Hungary and Poland was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/S01019X/1]. The collection of the data in France was supported by an Audencia Foundation grant. The collection of data in Sweden was supported by the research project “Knowledge resistance: causes, consequences, cures”, funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. Yannis Theocharis would like to acknowledge the support of the ZeMKI Lenkungskreis which generously contributed to funding this research.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.

Keywords

comparative research
cross-national
news media use
news repertoires
political knowledge

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10.1177/19401612211012572

Cite this

Castro, L., Strömbäck, J., Esser, F., Van Aelst, P., de Vreese, C., Aalberg, T., Cardenal, A. S., Corbu, N., Hopmann, D. N., Koc-Michalska, K., Matthes, J., Schemer, C., Sheafer, T., Splendore, S., Stanyer, J., Stępińska, A., Štětka, V., & Theocharis, Y. (2022). Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: a Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge. International Journal of Press/Politics, 27(4), 827-859. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211012572

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title = "Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: a Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge",

abstract = "The transition from low- to high-choice media environments has had far-reaching implications for citizens{\textquoteright} media use and its relationship with political knowledge. However, there is still a lack of comparative research on how citizens combine the usage of different media and how that is related to political knowledge. To fill this void, we use a unique cross-national survey about the online and offline media use habits of more than 28,000 individuals in 17 European countries. Our aim is to (i) profile different types of news consumers and (ii) understand how each user profile is linked to political knowledge acquisition. Our results show that five user profiles – news minimalists, social media news users, traditionalists, online news seekers, and hyper news consumers – can be identified, although the prevalence of these profiles varies across countries. Findings further show that both traditional and online-based news diets are correlated with higher political knowledge. However, online-based news use is more widespread in Southern Europe, where it is associated with lower levels of political knowledge than in Northern Europe. By focusing on news audiences, this study provides a comprehensive and fine-grained analysis of how contemporary European political information environments perform and contribute to an informed citizenry.",

keywords = "comparative research, cross-national, news media use, news repertoires, political knowledge",

author = "Laia Castro and Jesper Str{\"o}mb{\"a}ck and Frank Esser and {Van Aelst}, Peter and {de Vreese}, Claes and Toril Aalberg and Cardenal, {Ana S.} and Nicoleta Corbu and Hopmann, {David Nicolas} and Karolina Koc-Michalska and J{\"o}rg Matthes and Christian Schemer and Tamir Sheafer and Sergio Splendore and James Stanyer and Agnieszka St{\c e}pi{\'n}ska and V{\'a}clav {\v S}t{\v e}tka and Yannis Theocharis",

note = "Funding Information: We thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for improving this manuscript. We are also grateful to participants of the IJPP virtual conference 2020 for their comments and suggestions. This project was financially supported by the Network of European Political Communication Scholars (NEPOCS). Data collection in Denmark was supported by the University of Southern Denmark. The collection of data in Hungary and Poland was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/S01019X/1]. The collection of the data in France was supported by an Audencia Foundation grant. The collection of data in Sweden was supported by the research project “Knowledge resistance: causes, consequences, cures”, funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. Yannis Theocharis would like to acknowledge the support of the ZeMKI Lenkungskreis which generously contributed to funding this research. Funding Information: This project was financially supported by the Network of European Political Communication Scholars (NEPOCS). Data collection in Denmark was supported by the University of Southern Denmark. The collection of data in Hungary and Poland was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/S01019X/1]. The collection of the data in France was supported by an Audencia Foundation grant. The collection of data in Sweden was supported by the research project “Knowledge resistance: causes, consequences, cures”, funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. Yannis Theocharis would like to acknowledge the support of the ZeMKI Lenkungskreis which generously contributed to funding this research. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2021.",

year = "2022",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1177/19401612211012572",

language = "American English",

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Castro, L, Strömbäck, J, Esser, F, Van Aelst, P, de Vreese, C, Aalberg, T, Cardenal, AS, Corbu, N, Hopmann, DN, Koc-Michalska, K, Matthes, J, Schemer, C, Sheafer, T, Splendore, S, Stanyer, J, Stępińska, A, Štětka, V & Theocharis, Y 2022, 'Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: a Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge', International Journal of Press/Politics, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 827-859. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211012572

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AU - Strömbäck, Jesper

AU - Esser, Frank

AU - Van Aelst, Peter

AU - de Vreese, Claes

AU - Aalberg, Toril

AU - Cardenal, Ana S.

AU - Corbu, Nicoleta

AU - Hopmann, David Nicolas

AU - Koc-Michalska, Karolina

AU - Matthes, Jörg

AU - Schemer, Christian

AU - Sheafer, Tamir

AU - Splendore, Sergio

AU - Stanyer, James

AU - Stępińska, Agnieszka

AU - Štětka, Václav

AU - Theocharis, Yannis

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PY - 2022/10

Y1 - 2022/10

N2 - The transition from low- to high-choice media environments has had far-reaching implications for citizens’ media use and its relationship with political knowledge. However, there is still a lack of comparative research on how citizens combine the usage of different media and how that is related to political knowledge. To fill this void, we use a unique cross-national survey about the online and offline media use habits of more than 28,000 individuals in 17 European countries. Our aim is to (i) profile different types of news consumers and (ii) understand how each user profile is linked to political knowledge acquisition. Our results show that five user profiles – news minimalists, social media news users, traditionalists, online news seekers, and hyper news consumers – can be identified, although the prevalence of these profiles varies across countries. Findings further show that both traditional and online-based news diets are correlated with higher political knowledge. However, online-based news use is more widespread in Southern Europe, where it is associated with lower levels of political knowledge than in Northern Europe. By focusing on news audiences, this study provides a comprehensive and fine-grained analysis of how contemporary European political information environments perform and contribute to an informed citizenry.

AB - The transition from low- to high-choice media environments has had far-reaching implications for citizens’ media use and its relationship with political knowledge. However, there is still a lack of comparative research on how citizens combine the usage of different media and how that is related to political knowledge. To fill this void, we use a unique cross-national survey about the online and offline media use habits of more than 28,000 individuals in 17 European countries. Our aim is to (i) profile different types of news consumers and (ii) understand how each user profile is linked to political knowledge acquisition. Our results show that five user profiles – news minimalists, social media news users, traditionalists, online news seekers, and hyper news consumers – can be identified, although the prevalence of these profiles varies across countries. Findings further show that both traditional and online-based news diets are correlated with higher political knowledge. However, online-based news use is more widespread in Southern Europe, where it is associated with lower levels of political knowledge than in Northern Europe. By focusing on news audiences, this study provides a comprehensive and fine-grained analysis of how contemporary European political information environments perform and contribute to an informed citizenry.

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KW - news media use

KW - news repertoires

KW - political knowledge

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Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: a Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge

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Bibliographical note

Keywords

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