THE MAGNIFICATION AND MINIMIZATION OF SOCIAL CLEAVAGES BY THE BROADCAST AND NARROWCAST NEWS MEDIA

This paper provides an empirical test of the argument that the broadca st news media help create a 'national' public opinion and mute localiz ed opinion rooted in sociodemographic characteristics. Using Canadian data, me provide evidence that major social cleavages are reduced as e xposure to the broadcast media goes up. However, we also provide evide nce that exposure to media directed toward segmented audiences exacerb ates social cleavages. We conclude by speculating that public opinion may become more polarized around sociodemographic cleavages as narrowc ast media become more dominant and we suggest that this has implicatio ns for the study of media effects using survey research.