Market Segments
Access and Exposure to Local News Media in the Digital Era: Evidence from U.S. Media Markets
Minji Bang et al.
NBER Working Paper, July 2023
Abstract:
Using a new comprehensive survey of adults in large U.S. media markets we show that minority and low-skill individuals, who are heavily exposed to shocks to the local economy, typically have stronger preferences for and stronger exposure to local news than high-skill and white individuals. At the same time, these disadvantaged individuals have been negatively affected by the impact of the digital revolution on news provision. In particular, high-skill and white individuals have more rapidly embraced online and social media while low-skill and minority individuals still heavily rely on local television and other traditional news providers. These differences in provider choices are important because the digital revolution has reduced the quality of traditional news providers while the quality and quantity of online and social media have substantially increased. To gain additional insights into the welfare consequence of the digital revolution and assess potential policy interventions, we develop and estimate a model of news production and demand for local news. Our model is based on a time-allocation, discrete bundle-choice framework. Our findings suggest that the loss of the local newspaper (television) reduces welfare on average by $923 ($1064) which is well above the annual subscription costs in most markets. Finally, we study policies that subsidize online or social media to offset the loss of the local newspaper or television station.
Competition and Product Composition: Evidence from Hollywood
Joseph Kuehn & Ryan Lampe
International Journal of Industrial Organization, forthcoming
Abstract:
We examine how competition affects the number and composition of product offerings. The question is addressed using the example of the U.S. motion picture industry, which has experienced declining attendance in the past decade due to competition from streaming services and smart phone applications. Using data on 1,486 releases between 2009 and 2018, we estimate a structural model of endogenous product choice in which studios allocate a fixed budget to low-, medium-, and high-budget movie projects each year. A counterfactual exercise in which we assume that the number of Netflix streaming subscribers remains at its 2011 level reveals a significant increase in the number of medium-budget movies but little change in the number of low- and high-budget movies. Additional counterfactual exercises that simulate a change in the number of competing firms, such as a merger between two studios and the entry of a new studio, confirm the existence of an inverse relationship between competition and the number of medium-budget movies.
Look Who's Watching: Platform Labels and User Engagement on State-Backed Media Outlets
Samantha Bradshaw, Mona Elswah & Antonella Perini
American Behavioral Scientist, forthcoming
Abstract:
Recently, social media platforms have introduced several measures to counter misleading information. Among these measures are "state-media labels" which help users identify and evaluate the credibility of state-backed news. YouTube was the first platform to introduce labels that provide information about state-backed news channels. While previous work has examined the efficiency of information labels in controlled lab settings, few studies have examined how state-media labels affect users' perceptions of content from state-backed outlets. This article proposes new methodological and theoretical approaches to investigate the effect of state-media labels on users' engagement with content. Drawing on a content analysis of 8,071 YouTube comments posted before and after the labeling of five state-funded channels (Al Jazeera English [AJE], China Global Television Network, Russia Today [RT], TRT World, and Voice of America [VOA] News), this article analyses the effect that YouTube's labels had on users' engagement with state-backed media content. We found that the labels had no impact on the amount of likes that the videos received before and after the policy introduction, except for RT which received less likes after it was labeled. However, for RT, comments left by users were associated with 30% decrease in the likelihood of observing a critical comment following the policy implementation, and a 70% decrease in likelihood of observing a critical comment about RT as a media source. While other state-funded broadcasters, like AJE and VOA News, received fewer critical comments after YouTube introduced its policy; this relationship was associated with how political the video was, rather than the policy change. Our study contributes to the ongoing discussion on the efficacy of platform governance in relation to state-backed media, showing that audience preferences impact the effectiveness of labels.
Masculinity contingency and consumer attitudes toward electric vehicles
Mike Parent
Psychology of Men & Masculinities, forthcoming
Abstract:
Electric vehicles (EVs) represent a new consumer choice option with regard to vehicle purchases. Men, in general, report being interested in purchasing EVs, but traditional masculinity ideology, and in particular masculinity contingency, may be linked to negative attitudes toward EVs and reluctance to purchase EVs. Using data from 400 U.S. cisgender men, this study examined the links between masculinity contingency, EV-attitudes, EV-purchase intention, and viewing EVs as the least-favorable option for a new vehicle purchase. Consistent with hypotheses, masculinity contingency was linked with less favorable attitudes about EVs, lower intention to purchase EVs, and higher likelihood of rating EVs as the least-preferred new vehicle purchase option. The results are discussed in terms of applying masculinities theories to consumer and market research, and in terms of clinical work with men.
Symbol superiority: Why $ is better remembered than 'dollar'
Brady Roberts, Colin MacLeod & Myra Fernandes
Cognition, forthcoming
Abstract:
Memory typically is better for information presented in picture format than in word format. Dual-coding theory (Paivio, 1969) proposes that this is because pictures are spontaneously labelled, leading to the creation of two representational codes -- image and verbal -- whereas words often lead to only a single (verbal) code. With this perspective as motivation, the present investigation asked whether common graphic symbols (e.g.,!@#$%&) are afforded primarily verbal coding, akin to words, or whether they also invoke visual imagery, as do pictures. Across four experiments, participants were presented at study with graphic symbols or words (e.g., $ or 'dollar'). In Experiment 1, memory was assessed using free recall; in Experiment 2, memory was assessed using old-new recognition. In Experiment 3, the word set was restricted to a single category. In Experiment 4, memory for graphic symbols, pictures, and words was directly compared. All four experiments demonstrated a memory benefit for symbols relative to words. In a fifth experiment, machine learning estimations of inherent stimulus memorability were found to predict memory performance in the earlier experiments. This study is the first to present evidence that, like pictures, graphic symbols are better remembered than words, in line with dual-coding theory and with a distinctiveness account. We reason that symbols offer a visual referent for abstract concepts that are otherwise unlikely to be spontaneously imaged.