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August 20, 2026Journalism StudiesOpen Access

Growing Inequalities Through Motivations: A Moderated Mediation Analysis Between Socioeconomic Status, Political Interest and News Media Consumption in Sweden, 1990–2023

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Authors

EEErik Espeland

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Overview

Longitudinal survey analysis reveals widening socioeconomic gaps in news media consumption mediated by political interest, highlighting motivational drivers in high-choice media.

Key Points

  • To evaluate whether socioeconomic disparities in news consumption have widened over time and whether this relationship is mediated by political interest in high-choice media environments.
  • Conducted a moderated mediation analysis using 33 years of longitudinal survey data from Sweden spanning 1990 to 2023.
  • Analyzed responses from N = 47,884 participants to estimate both direct socioeconomic effects and indirect effects mediated through political interest on news consumption.
  • Socioeconomic gaps in news media consumption expanded progressively across the 33-year period.
  • The indirect effect of socioeconomic status on news consumption mediated through political interest increased over time, serving as a primary driver of expanding audience inequalities.

Cite This Study

Erik Espeland (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a86b5ff8a91293e6a1cdae6https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2026.2719570
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Also Consider

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  1. 1Educational Gaps in News Media Avoidance, 1986 to 2023. An Age–Period–Cohort Analysis2026 · 1 citations
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  4. 4American media, Scandinavian audiences: Contextual fragmentation and polarisation among Swedes and Norwegians engaging with American politics2024 · 1 citations
  5. 5I Read the News Today, but Why? Media Consumption, Socialization, and Autocracy2026