News media, racial perceptions, and political cognition

This study theorizes that news coverage of political issues not only influe nces people's thinking about the issues but also activates associated racia l or ethnic stereotypes held by individuals and influences whether these pe rceptions are applied in politically meaningful ways, such as in the format ion of issue positions or evaluations about whether certain political, econ omic, or legal outcomes are positive for U.S. society. To test these ideas, an experiment was conducted in which the news frame of immigration was sys tematically altered-as either material or ethical in nature-within controll ed political information environments to examine how individuals process, i nterpret; and use issue information informing political judgments. The find ings provide strong support for the perspective that news coverage of issue s, by priming subjects to focus on some considerations and relationships an d not others, influences the strength of the associations between individua ls' racial cognitions and their political evaluations.