Previous research has indicated that political radicals and cynics tend to obtain information from like-minded media sources. In this study, we relate media use to political preferences by utilising a cross-national large-N data set collected during the European elections in 2014 through an online opt-in sample and the European Election Studies (EES), in order to test whether individuals who are negatively opinionated towards the EU and the political elite get informed via media that have a similar attitude towards the EU and politics. Our findings indicate that Eurosceptic voters differ considerably from moderate and pro-European voters in terms of their daily media use. In addition, we find that getting informed via a left-wing- or a right-wing-oriented mainstream media matters, when explaining voter’s policy preference

Krouwel, A.P.M.

Kutiyski, Yordan

Leruth, B.

Startin, N.

Benjamin Leruth

Yordan Kutiyski

André Krouwel

Nicholas J. Startin

Crossref

Does the Information Source Matter? Newspaper Readership, Political Preferences and Attitudes Towards the EU in the UK, France and the Netherlands

LERUTH, Benjamin

Krouwel, Andre

Startin, Nicholas

University of Canberra Research Repository

Does the Information Source Matter? Newspaper Readership, Political Preferences and Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands

This volume focuses on the relationship between the media and European democracy, as important factors of EU legitimacy. The contributors show how the media play a crucial role in making European governance accountable, and how it can act as an intermediate link between citizens and their elected and unelected representatives.The book focuses on widespread levels of Euroscepticism and the contemporary European crisis. The authors present empirical studies which problematize the role of traditional media coverage on EU attitudes. Comparisons are also drawn between traditional and new media in their influence on Euroscepticism. Furthermore, the authors analyse the impact of the internet and social media as new arenas in which Eurosceptic claims and positions can be made visible, as well as being a medium used by political parties and populist movements which contest Europe and its politics and policies.Euroscepticism, Democracy and the Media will be of interest to students and scholars with an interest in European politics, political parties, interest groups, social movements and political sociology

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English