Political News Diets and Political Attitudes in the 2019 EU Elections in Italy

• In Event: Information Diet and Its Effects

Abstract

The 2019 European Union (EU) Parliament elections were seen as a crucial appointment for the member states, reaching the polls after recording the success of populist and anti-establishment parties in domestic elections. Among these countries, Italy represents an exemplary case. Firstly, Italian populist forces strengthened their positions, thanks to the establishment of a government coalition led by Giuseppe Conte. Secondly, the ruling parties Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) and Lega, built up their political identity by polarizing the political landscape, drawing on highly divisive issues. Along with Euroscepticism, migration represented the core of the public debate, becoming the first issue of the election campaign agenda.
The study focuses on the 2019 EU campaign election to investigate:
1) How the consumption of citizens’ information is shaped within a fragmented and hybrid information environment.
2) How these news diets impact citizens’ political attitudes by examining how they relate both to the populist-oriented disposition, as well as to the major issues of the campaign, such as prejudice against migrants and trust towards the EU.

We have combined a survey regarding Italian adults with their media consumption and web traffic data, retrieved from the internet browser histories of the respondents themselves. The survey on 3.411 individuals was carried out for 3 weeks during the month before the election day and the media consumption of the participants (via the Internet, TV, Smartphone) was monitored by using various techniques. The advantage of this approach is the ability to capture media exposure (rather than the self-reported one).

The application of PCA allowed the identification of three distinct clusters:
1) The “TV-News centric” (49.8%), i.e. citizens who solely rely on television for their needs of political news: this cluster is positively associated with the consumption of political information through newscast and talk-shows, as well as negatively with the consumption of web news outlets and in-depth magazines; although the presence of a multi-choice media environment, these individuals have a mono-channel information diet.
2) The “News minimalist” (33.5%), i.e. citizens who avoid exposure to political information: this cluster is negatively associated with any type of information source indicating that, despite the abundance of formats and channels available today, these individuals keep away from any news source and content.
3) The “News addicted” (16.7%), i.e. citizens who are omnivorous of political information with cross-media diets: this cluster is strongly positively associated with the consumption of political news online, through national/local newspapers and in-depth magazines, and also positively associated with more traditional sources (newscast and talk-shows).
Examining these clusters from a socio-demographic point of view, some previous trends are confirmed: the “TV-News centric” are more represented among the elderly of female gender and less educated; the “News-minimalist”, balanced in terms of gender and with a low to medium level of education, are more represented among the young; the “News addicted” are more equally divided among people aged between 30 and 68, mainly males with a higher-level education.
Multiple linear regression (OLS-Ordinary Least Squares) models have been carried out to analyze the relation between the news-profiles that emerged from the clusters and the political attitudes of the participants.
While the political attitudes of the “TV-News centric” are more multifaceted and varied, the results show a strong connection between the “News minimalist” and populist attitudes. As for the “News addicted”, it emerges that they are positively associated with trusting the EU, while negatively associated with anti-migration positions.

Overall, among the most important results, we can emphasize:
· Despite the presence of a high-choice media environment, Italians' information diets are predominantly mono-channel and Tv-centric; in other words, television still plays a central role as a political information medium. Equally relevant is the fact that one-third of the population, regardless of the abundance of available information sources and formats, avoids consuming political news. Finally, only a minority of the population stands out in both a broad and diversified use of media channels as well as the preference for in-depth political information.
· Regarding the impact of media diets on political attitudes, it emerges that the avoidance of political information is highly connected to populist attitudes, whereas cross-media and in-depth information diets tend to favor less prejudice-based attitudes towards migrants and more consensus towards European integration.

Authors

• Sara Bentivegna, University of Rome "Sapienza"

• Rossella Rega, University of Siena

• Orazio Giancola, University of Roma "Sapienza"