Cynics all around? The impact of election news on political cynicism in comparative perspective

Previous research suggests that the news media’s reporting about politics in terms of strategy fosters political cynicism. The question remains, however, what the conditions are which facilitate or inhibit this effect. In this study, we develop and test a model including both individual and contextual factors. We draw on a unique multi-method and comparative cross-country design, combining a media content analysis (N=52,009) with a two-wave panel survey conducted in 21 countries (N=32,411) during the 2009 European Parliamentary elections. Our findings stress that the effect of strategy news on cynicism is conditional upon both individual and contextual factors. Citizens who are less aware of the election campaign are more affected. Furthermore, strategy news has more of an effect on cynicism in countries in which trust in EU institutions is lower. Overall, our study provides the first comprehensive overview over the conditional impact of election news on political cynicism in comparative perspective.