News coverage is the reporting in newspapers, on radio and television, or online about recent events. The content of news coverage can impact the way that people think and feel, and can influence how they make decisions. News coverage also influences the public’s perception of a topic, and can even shape how governments allocate funding to research or other efforts related to that topic.
What isn’t reported can be just as important as what is reported. Studies have shown that when a particular issue is overrepresented in the media, the public can develop a biased view of its prevalence – for example, those who consume a lot of news about racial violence are more likely to believe that most criminals, victims and police officers are black than those who don’t consume much media about racial violence.
The news media also has a role to play in how we form political views and engage in democratic processes. For instance, the news media shapes how we perceive electoral candidates through horse-race coverage and short sound bites. The news media can also have an effect on how we interact with Congress by framing discussions and choosing information and images to support stories.
What’s more, the way that news is framed can have long-term impacts on how people feel and respond to world events. For example, studies have shown that those who consumed a lot of news during hurricanes experienced worse post-traumatic stress than those who didn’t. And misinformation can spread much faster than fact-checked reports on social media.
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