Learning from the news in campaign 2000: An experimental comparison of TV news, newspapers, and online news

The present study seeks to contribute to the literature on learning differences across media by extending the traditional television news versus newspaper comparison to include reading of online news. It employs an experimental design, but with exposure over time and a reasonable delay between exposure and the measurement of learning. It also moves beyond simple comparisons of effects to examine potential information-processing explanations for any differences that may appear across conditions as the result of both experimental demand and real differences across media. The results suggest that the medium of communication may have different effects depending on the type of learning measured. Recall of news stories tended to favor television and print newspapers compared to online newspapers, but structuring of election knowledge favored online newspapers compared to print and television news. In addition, findings suggest that information-processing behaviors-specifically attention-are encouraged by a combination of the nature of the medium and the experimental context.