Sumitra Badrinathan, Who Wants Impartial News? Investigating Determinants of Preferences for Impartiality in 40 Countries
Even though fairness and neutrality are important values in journalism and are supported by many people, we still don鈥檛 know much about what shapes people鈥檚 preferences when it comes to impartial news. A new co-authored article from SIS Professor Sumitra Badrinathan in the International Journal of Communication聽looks at survey data from 40 countries to explore what influences these preferences.
While most people say they want unbiased news, there are some groups who tend to prefer news that aligns with their own views. These include: (a) people who are politically active or have strong political beliefs; (b) younger audiences, especially those who mainly get news from social media; (c) women; and (d) people from lower-income or less privileged backgrounds. Badrinathan and her co-authors聽also found that in countries where people get news from many different sources鈥攁nd where democracy isn鈥檛 as strong鈥攖here鈥檚 more support for news that isn鈥檛 completely impartial.
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