Strengthening American Democracy: Challenges for News & Democracy in the Platform Era

Join us for another event in our Speaker Series, this one hosted at 6:00 p.m. at the Broad Auditorium located at the Pepper Center building on campus at the Florida State University. Our speaker, Johanna Dunaway, will be discussing the research she’s done on the polarization of local media. Johanna is an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University and is an expert in media and political communications.

Here’s a preview of our topic for Thursday’s event.

In recent years, the digital media environment has become a punching bag of sorts. Politicians, the punditry, and even many researchers are quick to attribute rising polarization, negative partisan affect, and widespread endorsement and acceptance of misinformation to the changing media environment. Some accounts suggest people will be exposed to misinformation or develop misperceptions because of decisions they make about what kinds of information to seek – especially popular accounts. Other accounts seem preoccupied with selectivity and choice afforded by the digital media environment, as well as network and filtering effects that might allow for echo chambers that might further partisan extremity and polarization. But in placing blame almost entirely at the feet of the media environment and focusing so heavily on exposure, these accounts underappreciate how individual-level cognitive biases affect information processing upon exposure. To truly understand the causes and effects of polarization and misinformation, we must not mischaracterize the nature of the relationships between polarization, the digital media environment, exposure to misinformation, and the development of misperceptions.

Not sure where to attend? This event will be held in person, at the Broad Auditorium, located at the Pepper Center building on campus.