NEWSPAPER EFFECTS ON POLICY PREFERENCES

This research offers clear evidence that what is presented in the media influences the policy preferences of the American public. More important, it reconciles some earlier problems that led to an inability to determine the approximate relationships between television and newspaper information concerning policy. By correcting some methodological problems in earlier attempts to examine the impact of New York Times policy news, the A. is able to conclude that different actors or news sources do indeed have differential impacts on public opinion .