Despite the increasing diffusion of the Internet technology, TV remains the
principal medium of communication. People's perceptions, knowledge, beliefs and
opinions about matter of facts get (in)formed through the information reported
on by the mass-media. However, a single source of information (and consensus)
could be a potential cause of anomalies in the structure and evolution of a
society. Hence, as the information available (and the way it is reported) is
fundamental for our perceptions and opinions, the definition of conditions
allowing for a good information to be disseminated is a pressing challenge. In
this paper starting from a report on the last Italian political campaign in
2008, we derive a socio-cognitive computational model of opinion dynamics where
agents get informed by different sources of information. Then, a what-if
analysis, performed trough simulations on the model's parameters space, is
shown. In particular, the scenario implemented includes three main streams of
information acquisition, differing in both the contents and the perceived
reliability of the messages spread. Agents' internal opinion is updated either
by accessing one of the information sources, namely media and experts, or by
exchanging information with one another. They are also endowed with cognitive
mechanisms to accept, reject or partially consider the acquired information