Tone Matters: Effects of Exposure to Positive and Negative Tone of Television News Stories on Anti-Immigrant Attitudes and Carry-Over Effects to Uninvolved Immigrant Groups

The current experimental study (N = 546) compares the effect of exposure to a television news story with a positive and negative tone on anti-immigrant attitudes and carry-over effects to uninvolved immigrant groups. Results reveal that exposure to a “negatively” valenced news story about North African immigrants increased negative attitudes toward that same group. Importantly, however, we find carry-over effects of exposure to a “positively” valenced news story about North African immigrants to attitudes toward uninvolved immigrant groups. Together, these findings show that the effect of exposure to television news tone has more ramifications than previously thought, and that the impact of exposure to a positive or negative news story differs for direct effects vis-à-vis carry-over effects.