Learning about Politics from Mass Media and Social Media: Moderating Roles of Press Freedom and Public Service Broadcasting in 11 Countries

To examine whether mass media and social media relate to political knowledge, the study draws upon an original survey of adults from 11 countries, the 2014 CESifo DICE Report on public service broadcasting, and the 2015 Press Freedom Index by Freedom House. Findings reveal that news use via television, newspapers, online news sites, and social media is positively associated with political knowledge. Furthermore, press freedom and strong public broadcasting strengthen the association between news use (via both mass and social media) and political knowledge. The findings suggest that the media system plays a crucial role in creating a political learning environment even in this social media age.