Exemplification and the HME, 1
Examining Additional Causes and Consequences of the Hostile Media Effect:
The Exemplification Explanation and News Source Selection Implications
Abstract
Studies of the hostile media effect (HME) have found that partisans, those who
are highly involved with controversial issues or groups in the news, tend to perceive news
stories about those issue or groups as biased, even though other uninvolved individuals
would label such stories as balanced or neutral. A previous study found that the quotes
used to exemplify public opinion in a news story predicted partisans’ perceptions of story
bias and its influence on others. The current study examined the extent to which
anecdotes that exemplified misdeeds committed by members of a partisan group affected
group and non-group members’ perceptions of story bias, thus further testing the ability
of exemplification theory to explain the HME. The study also added a new variable to the
study of the HME: intent to continue to consume news produced by the offending source.
Anecdotal exemplification did not predict hostile media judgments. However, hostile
media judgments were associated with less intent to read the given paper and stories by
the given reporter in the future.