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Abstract:
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We evaluate the degree and evolution of partisan consumption and segregation in television, online, and social media news for Americans. We use billions of viewing events from the TVs and browsers of hundreds of thousands of Americans across four years. We show that television news watchers are more concentrated on partisan sources, consume more partisan news each day, and remain loyal to partisan news sources for far longer than happens online or in social media. Yet, we also show that consumption of extreme content, heavily dependent on its definition, is more concentrated online, especially in social media, making it a greater threat when it comes to radicalization. If you are concerned about widespread polarization, you should look to television news; if you are concerned about small but meaningful concentrations of extreme content and possible radicalization, you should look to social media.
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