… In March of 1996, Rupert Murdoch announced the introduction of the Fox News network. But the introduction of Fox News did not happen nationally. Instead it was available in only a limited number of cable markets in 1996 and expanded slowly and steadily over the years. … It is a unique natural experiment because some Americans had access to Fox News, while others did not. Importantly, the places that received Fox News were not more conservative than the places that did not; which towns had access to Fox News first and which did not was largely idiosyncratic. This circumstance has allowed social scientists to test the effect that Fox News has had on voters and elected representatives. …
The critical takeaway that emerges from these studies is that the rise in ideologically slanted media has a real and measurable impact on American politics. Fox News has shaped and continues to shape American politics in dramatic ways, not least of which is the fostering of a more conservative and polarized electorate and Congress. CONT.
Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz (U. of R.I.), Pacific Standard