Our long 'return to the concept of powerful mass media' - A cross-national comparative investigation of the effects of consonant media coverage

Abstract

Consonant media coverage, i.e. a very similar presentation and evaluation of issues in all media of a particular country, is usually considered to bring about powerful media effects. Though plausible, this notion has hardly been put to the test. This study investigated whether consonant coverage affects support for European integration. The study linked, at the individual level, content analytic measures to survey data in 13 European countries. If the media in a particular country evaluated EU representatives consonantly, then positive evaluations increased people's support for further European integration, while negative evaluations decreased it. This effect was boosted by the visibility of EU representatives. Conversely, if the media in a particular country evaluated EU representatives dissonantly, then no effect of the coverage emerged. Cognitive selection mechanisms did not protect EU citizens from the influence of consonant media coverage, which indicates powerful media effects. The findings suggest that media effects research may benefit from the 'concept of powerful mass media'.