Living in a Diverse Community: Effects of Geographical Variations in Diversity on Partisan Communication

Seungsu Lee*, Jaeho Cho

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

Abstract

This study examines the effects of geographical variations in diversity on political communication within the context of partisan media and audiences. Partisan heterogeneity, as an indicator of political diversity, was conceptualized as a geographical context of the distribution of party preferences within a county. Using a set of nationwide panel survey data with county-level statistics, we conducted multilevel modeling to test its effects on partisan news use, political discussion, knowledge, and affective polarization. The results indicate that county-level partisan heterogeneity reduced the average levels of like-minded news consumption. Moreover, it attenuated the positive relationship between like-minded news use and political talk with strong ties. Additionally, we found that the context of partisan heterogeneity significantly moderated the mediation effects of partisan news use on political knowledge and affective polarization through political discussion. Implications of these results on partisan communication were discussed. © The Author(s) 2024.
Original languageEnglish
JournalCommunication Research
DOIs
Publication statusOnline published - 29 Sept 2024

Research Keywords

  • affective polarization
  • multilevel modeling
  • partisan communication
  • political discussion
  • political diversity

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