Liberated Viewers, Polarized Voters--The Implications of Increased Media Choice for Democratic Politics

Not everything about the Internet is new. Before Internet users could access vast amounts of political information with the click of a mouse, cable subscribers could flip between different 24-hour news channels with the push of a remote. Before Internet users could download music or order movie tickets online, cable viewers could pick between different music channels and hundreds of movies and entertainment shows everyday. In short, long before the Internet offered an alternative to mainstream media, cable television satisfied many niche interests.