In highly polarized media landscapes, the specific television news channels households watch can fundamentally shape their economic expectations, according to a study published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Investigating Turkey’s deeply divided media environment during a period of high inflation, the research reveals that political segmentation erodes the shared informational base that central banks rely on to anchor public expectations.
Volume over tone
The study, conducted by researcher Selva Demiralp and her co-authors, combined prime-time news transcripts with monthly household surveys. Demiralp notes that the sheer volume of inflation coverage has a far greater impact on viewer expectations than the overall tone of the broadcast. Once inflation is mentioned on television, even optimistic spin fails to counteract the public’s anxiety, which explains why pro-government channels often choose to minimize coverage of the topic entirely.
The neutral channel effect
The researchers observed that the public’s response to economic news is deeply split along partisan lines. The authors highlight that viewers who watch politically neutral channels are the most responsive to changes in coverage, experiencing an effect more than three times larger than the average viewer. In contrast, partisan audiences demonstrate a strong bias toward source credibility, with pro-government viewers only adjusting their inflation expectations when the economic news is reported by an outlet aligned with their political views.
Political consequences
This media filtering also has direct electoral consequences. The study found that higher inflation expectations among neutral-channel viewers directly correlate with reduced confidence in state economic management and lower stated support for the political incumbent. Consequently, polarized media does not simply present different facts; it actively fragments the nominal anchors necessary for cohesive monetary policy.
