Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: a Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge

Abstract

The transition from low- to high-choice media environments has had far-reaching implications for citizens’ media use and its relationship with political knowledge. However, there is still a lack of comparative research on how citizens combine the usage of different media and how that is related to political knowledge. To fill this void, we use a unique cross-national survey about the online and offline media use habits of more than 28,000 individuals in 17 European countries. Our aim is to (i) profile different types of news consumers and (ii) understand how each user profile is linked to political knowledge acquisition. Our results show that five user profiles – news minimalists, social media news users, traditionalists, online news seekers, and hyper news consumers – can be identified, although the prevalence of these profiles varies across countries. Findings further show that both traditional and online-based news diets are correlated with higher political knowledge. However, online-based news use is more widespread in Southern Europe, where it is associated with lower levels of political knowledge than in Northern Europe. By focusing on news audiences, this study provides a comprehensive and fine-grained analysis of how contemporary European political information environments perform and contribute to an informed citizenry.

Knowledge Resistance in High-Choice Information Environments

“…One of the most important transformations during the last decade is the transformation from low-to high-choice media and information environments (Castro et al, 2021;. In the early days of the digital revolution, many thought that digital and online media heralded a revitalization of the democratic public sphere and a democratization of knowledge, but over the years, it has become apparent that this transformation represents a Janus-faced development.…”

“…Similarly, while some have the ability to differentiate between low-and high-quality information, others have less skills in media and information literacy. The result is likely to be increasing inequalities in media and information use, and in extension how much and what people learn from whatever media and information they make use of Castro et al, 2021;Dimitrova et al, 2014;Wei & Hindman, 2011). In line with this argument, research suggests increasing differences in news media use across time, that news avoidance has increased, and that factors such as political interest and educational level as well as political preferences have become more important predictors of news media use Bergström et al, 2019;Blekesaune et al, 2012;Strömbäck et al, 2013;Stroud, 2011;Toff & Kalogeropoulos, 2020).…”

“…Before proceeding, it should be noted that comparative research shows that the dynamics between the supply and demand side of political information are highly dependent on the country context (Aalberg & Curran, 2010;Castro et al, 2021;Esser et al, 2017;Hallin & Mancini, 2004;Humprecht et al, 2020). The national political system, media system, and citizens' orientations toward media and politics all influence the role that media may play in processes of knowledge resistance.…”

“…This may nevertheless contribute to an illusion of knowing (Leonhard et al, 2020). Several studies also show that people learn less from using digital and social media compared to traditional news media (Andersen & Strömbäck, 2021;Castro et al, 2021;Shehata & Strömbäck, 2021;Van Erkel & Van Aelst, 2020). In addition, on social media, news from traditional news media is intermingling with news from partisan media, citizen media, political organizations, and fake news sites, blurring the boundaries between distinctively different types of "news".…”

“…The disruption and transformation of political information environments has not only had profound consequences for the supply of political information. It has also had a profound impact for citizens' orientation toward and use of media, greatly expanding the opportunity structures for selective exposure (Castro et al, 2021;Skovsgaard et al, 2016).…”