Is the Media Biased Against Me? A Meta-Analysis of the Hostile Media Effect Research

A considerable number of studies have provided empirical evidence of people's perception of media bias—the hostile media effect (HME). This study conducts a meta-analysis of 34 HME studies. HME, in which individuals perceive news coverage as biased against their own side, is observed in diverse contexts with a moderate effect size. Involvement is a moderating variable of the effect: The effect size was significantly higher as people became more involved with the topic. Nonetheless, the phenomenon also manifests under relatively low involvement conditions. The meta-analysis also indicates that there is no statistical evidence to suggest that the media format (e.g., newspaper or television) or study design (i.e., experimental or survey) moderates HME.