Media Effects in a Presidential Campaign: A Field Experiment

• In Event: Field Experimental Studies of Registration, Turnout, and Vote Choice

Abstract

Around the first presidential debate of the 2016 election, 1,700 respondents were recruited to participate in a multi-stage experimental panel. After blocking on their prior channel preference and partisanship, respondents were assigned to watch the candidate debate on either MSNBC, Fox News, or CSPAN. Subjects were further randomly assigned to watch 30 minutes of post-debate analysis. Exposure to post-debate analysis affected candidate perceptions immediately following the debate, and persisted up to two weeks. This is among the most elaborate attempts to provide an experimental estimate of media consumption and its effect on vote choice.

Authors

• Thomas Wood, The Ohio State University

• Ethan Porter, University of Chicago

• Kimberly A. Gross, George Washington University