Trump, polarisering och mediekonsumtion : En kvantitativ studie av amerikanska mediers påverkan på den politiska polariseringen i samband med presidentvalen 2012 och 2016.

Sammanfattning: This study examines the role of traditional media-outlets when Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States in 2016. The study is a quantitative study, comparing the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections, where the correlation between voter’s media consumption and their perceived polarization are examined. The data comes from the ANES Time Series Studies from 2012 and 2016. This study shows that traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers and certain webpage’s) played a significant, but relative small role, in both elections. However, the correlation between media and polarization was slightly higher in 2016. The conclusion is that an individual’s media consumption also influences his or her level of polarization, also when Donald Trump was elected president. But an individual’s level of polarization is also based on a number of other factors, apart from media consumption. The study also discusses media consumption and polarization in the context of the new media model, where social media plays a large part.