New study on journalistic perception of public opinion

How much do one's own political convictions influence one's perception of public opinion? In the new study “Projection in journalists' perceptions of public opinion”, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Fabian Prochazka et al. answer this question with data from Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The researchers analyzed survey data from political journalists in Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The key finding: the respondents' personal policy positions correlate systematically with their assessments of public opinion - a phenomenon known as social projection. This effect is particularly pronounced among journalists with more right-wing political views.

At the same time, the study shows that this projection is less pronounced under certain conditions: for example, for topics from their own department or when public opinion on a topic is perceived as particularly ambiguous.

The results provide new insights into the psychological mechanisms behind journalistic assessments and raise questions about professional objectivity in political reporting.

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