Right-wing Bias in Journalists’ Perceptions of Public Opinion

Bibliographic Data

ID12909293
AuthorsKathleen Beckers (0000-0003-2970-8494, University of Antwerp, corresponding author), Stefaan Walgrave (0000-0003-1814-1015, University of Antwerp), Hanna Valerie Wolf (University of Antwerp), Kenza Lamot (0000-0002-6945-0435, University of Antwerp), Peter Van Aelst (0000-0002-2548-0309, University of Antwerp)
Year2019
Volume15
Issue2
Pages243-258
Publication date2019-12-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2019.1703788
OpenAlexW2994899911
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited23

How journalists perceive public opinion is important in democracies. These perceptions help journalists to construct meaningful stories and might influence news content. However, little is known about how accurate journalists’ perceptions of public opinion actually are. Using a survey with Belgian (Flemish) political journalists, we analyze their perceptions of public opinion on concrete policy proposals, next to their general political leaning. We combine the estimates from journalists with evidence about “real” public opinion, collected through a parallel citizen survey. Further, our quantitative survey results are complemented with qualitative explanations offered by journalists themselves. We find that the surveyed political journalists perceive their outlets’ audiences’ political leaning as more right-wing than their own. Regarding specific policy issues, the political journalists perceive the public almost consistently as being more right-wing than they actually are. Right-wing journalists are better at correctly assessing public opinion. Moreover, the more experienced journalists are, the smaller the right-wing bias in their estimations. Journalists seem to be well aware of their own center-left leaning and overcompensate for, rather than project, their own leaning in their assessment of public opinion. In all, our study shows that looking into journalists’ public opinion perceptions is a relevant and promising research track

Construct (python library · Flemish · Geography · News media · Perception · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Public relations · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Psychology · Social Media and Politics