>>VT Professor Studying Impact of Media, Podcasts on Election Outcomes
(Blacksburg, VA) -- A professor in Virginia is studying the impacts of certain types of media on election outcomes. Thomas Cage with more.Preview: Voicer Script:
The outcome of the presidential race and many contested races nationwide have been determined since Election Day. Virginia Tech School of Communication Associate Professor Megan Duncan studies political news audiences and notes the increasing importance of non-traditional sources of information in shaping public opinion, such as podcasts. She tells WDBJ these sources sometimes feature more opinions than facts and it can become challenging to use facts to persuade a listener who has already formed their views. A Gallup poll in October shows record-low trust in the mass media, with 69% reporting distrust, and 66% of surveyors report not trusting the legistlative branch of the federal government.