ACADEMIC ARTICLE SUMMARY
Ideological Segregation Online and Offline
Article Source: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 126, No. 4, pp. 1799-1839, 2011
Publication Date:
Time to Read: 1 minute readWritten By:
Matthew GentzkowTAP Scholar
Jesse Shapiro
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ARTICLE SUMMARY
Summary:
Measures the degree of ideological segregation in the market for online news and compares this to other news sources.
POLICY RELEVANCE
Policy Relevance:
Guaranteeing exposure to information from diverse viewpoints has been a central goal of media policy in the United States and around the world, including recently proposed net neutrality legislation.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Takeaways:
- The ideological segregation of online news—the degree to which liberals and conservatives are isolated from each other’s opinions-- is low in absolute terms.
- The segregation of online news is higher than broadcast television news, cable television news, magazines, and local newspapers.
- The segregation of online news is lower than national newspapers.
- The segregation of online news is higher than a social network where individuals match randomly within counties, and lower than a network where they match randomly within ZIP codes.
- Segregation of online news is significantly lower than in networks which people form such as work neighborhoods family), trusted friends, and political discussants.
- There is no evidence from data since 2004 that the Internet is becoming more ideologically segregated over time.
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About Matthew Gentzkow
Matthew Gentzkow is the Landau Professor of Technology and the Economy at Stanford University. He studies applied microeconomics with a focus on media industries. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
