Those who are deeply involved “will spend much of their day reading and watching the news,” Krupnikov and Ryan write. “They will know the minute details about the political events of the day, which should not be confused with more general political knowledge.” Those most involved are much more likely to make their views known on social media and talk about politics. They also believe that “even the most minute political event can have a myriad of important consequences” and believe it is almost a moral failure not to pay attention to such events.
“The Other Divide” argues that the voices of the deeply involved are amplified by the media, giving the impression that typical Americans are more polarized and have more animosity toward grassroots supporters of the opposing party than is true. the “modal partisan”, who is “a moderate who rarely talks about politics”.
Krupnikov and Ryan also say that the political talk of the more involved is, well, pretty annoying to the less involved. As they say in their guest essay, “For partisans, politics is a work of morality, a struggle of good against evil. But most Americans just see two groups of angry people arguing over issues that may not always seem urgent or important.” A theme that Krupnikov and Ryan cited as very important to those who don’t follow the news closely, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, it’s low hourly wages.” But for die-hard supporters, the issue barely registers.”
These findings lead me to two conclusions. One is that we must resist neat narratives about who consumes which media and what they get out of it, because we often don’t know. I asked Kalla if we know why people are watching partisan cable news in the first place: is it to be informed? Is it because they love a certain host, like Rachel Maddow or Tucker Carlson? He said, “I don’t think we know the answer,” then added, laughing, that people are generally “bad at thinking about why they do the things they do.”
My other takeaway, as we approach the storm of 2024, is that journalists need to think more deeply about the amount and type of coverage we give each candidate and event. Yes, political superfans may be salivating over Day 7 or 8 of Trump town hall coverage, but as the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s annual digital news report found , a growing percentage of people in various countries, including our own, avoid the News. Because among those who avoid the news, “across all markets, many respondents say they feel put off by the repetitiveness of the news agenda, especially when it comes to politics and Covid-19 (43%) or that they often feel worn out by the news (29%).”
