Who learns in information rich contexts? The informative effects of the 2015 Spanish electoral campaign Monica Ferrín Research Fellow, Collegio Carlo Alberto. Piazza Arbarello 8, 10122 Torino, Italy
[email protected] Marta Fraile (Corresponding author)*** Permanent Research Fellow at CSIC (Institute of Public Goods and Policies, IPP) C/Albasanz, 26-28. Madrid 28037 (Spain).
[email protected] Gema M. García-Albacete Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, Carlos III University of Madrid C/ Madrid 126, 28903 Getafe (Madrid), Spain Phone: +34 91 6249599
[email protected] Word count: 8100 1 Abstract This article analyzes the informative effects of an election campaign in a quasi- experimental scenario where new political information entered the competition, given the emergence of two new parties. Using an exhaustive measure of political learning, and thanks to the use of panel data, it shows that at least some of the otherwise ‘inattentive citizens’ were able to learn about politics during the Spanish general election campaign in December 2015. This group predominantly comprised women, the poorly educated, and especially those with low motivation. From all the media outlets analyzed here, we conclude that it was the information disseminated on TV infotainment that was most successful in promoting learning to a section of the typical ‘have-nots’. Significantly, TV infotainment contributed the most to learning facts about the new political parties entering the electoral competition. Keywords Election Campaigns, Knowledge Gaps, Learning, Infotainment, Spain Published at International Journal of Press Politics: doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161219832455 2 It is now beyond refute that the media environment has been transformed in Western democracies (Williams and Delli Carpini, 2011).