New pod: @JamesFallows joins the show to talk about the Democrats' very rough week
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/202…
- the deep story of the voting rights bill
- a clinic on US filibuster history
- Biden polling exegesis
- negativity bias vs. agency bias in political media
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/202…
- the deep story of the voting rights bill
- a clinic on US filibuster history
- Biden polling exegesis
- negativity bias vs. agency bias in political media
Our discussion toward the end about news biases was one of the most interesting conversations I've had about political media in a while.
In short:
1. The press has a negativity bias (duh).
2. That's in part bc audiences have a negativity bias.
3. Media also has "agency bias."
In short:
1. The press has a negativity bias (duh).
2. That's in part bc audiences have a negativity bias.
3. Media also has "agency bias."
News orgs can A/B test headlines with positive and negative frames. I've done it. It's clear that readers click more when the framing is negative. You can see this on Twitter, too.
Our (the media's) negativity bias both drives and reflects your (the audience's) negativity.
Our (the media's) negativity bias both drives and reflects your (the audience's) negativity.
More subtly, political media has an agency bias. It's easier to cast lead characters in the story as heroes or failures—Is Joe Biden the next FDR? or has he Failed?—rather than recognize them as sea captains in a hurricane, with limited control over the orientation of the ship.
My conversation with @JamesFallows about Biden's polling swoon, media negativity, agency bias, and the president as hurricane captain starts around 27:30 here
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/202…
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/202…
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