Does The Daily Show Matter? Television Shows, Vote Choice, and Public Opinion

• In Event: Popular Culture and Public Opinion

Abstract

In this study, we exploit changes in some of the most popular U.S. comedic television news shows to measure the effects of media on vote choice and public opinion. Specifically, we look at whether Comedy Central's Daily Show, as well as the show that follows it, had observable effects on 2016 primary voting and attitude positions. Our identification strategy relies upon the fact that both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were replaced in short order, with Trevor Noah and Larry Wilmore respectively. We merge a vast data set of minute-by-minute ratings data with results from the Democratic presidential primary and responses to a panel survey, presenting both descriptive and instrumental variable results. We find that both shows play surprisingly large roles in how people vote, and the positions they hold on key policy issues.

Authors

• Ethan Porter, University of Chicago

• Thomas Wood, The Ohio State University