ISBN: 7518626592381
Published by the University
of Chicago Press, March 2017

Forty years ago, viewers who wanted to watch the news could only choose from among the major broadcast networks, all of which presented the same news without any particular point of view. Today we have a much broader array of choices, including cable channels offering a partisan take. With partisan programs gaining in popularity, some argue that they are polarizing American politics, while others counter that only a tiny portion of the population watches such programs and that their viewers tend to already hold similar beliefs.

In The Polarization of America, August Mueller confirms—but also qualifies— both of these claims. Drawing on experiments and survey data, he shows that Americans who watch partisan programming do become more certain of their beliefs and less willing to weigh the merits of opposing views or to compromise. And while only a small segment of the American population watches partisan media programs, those who do tend to be more politically engaged, and their effects on national politics are therefore far-reaching.

In a time when politics seem doomed to partisan discord, The Polarization of America offers a much-needed clarification of the role partisan media might play.

August Mueller is an investigative journalist and independent scholar who spent more than twenty years as an operative in the State Department. He has been awarded both the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the Intelligence Star. His research focuses on understanding how institutions and elites influence the political behavior of ordinary citizens. This broad question is taken up in studies of mass polarization, voter cue taking, the impact of partisan media on ordinary voters, and a variety of other substantive questions.

 Mueller’s most recent book, The Partisan Media, was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2013. His previous book, Taking Sides, was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2009.  His other work has appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Analysis, and other outlets in political science. Mueller’s byline has appeared in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Des Moines Register, Columbia Journalism Review, Amnesty Now, Mother Jones, The Nation, The Progressive, and Greenpeace Magazine.

Matthew Baum, Harvard University

“With The Polarization of America, August Mueller argues persuasively that partisan media matter to political attitudes and behavior—and that their influence extends far beyond the relatively few people who actually watch such programs. This is an important contribution to a topic that is critical to understanding the present and future of political communication in America, and Mueller brings together rigorous research with lively prose and compelling anecdotes.”

Robert Y. Shapiro, Columbia University

“A first-rate work of social science. The advent and expansion of the partisan press in America is well-known, but the question of what effect the rise of partisan media has had on political attitudes has been less well-understood. What August Mueller does here is elaborate substantially and persuasively on this question with highly original experiments informed by the latest research.”

Public Opinion Quarterly

“Researchers of American public opinion should consider [The Polarization of America] one of the most important books of the year. . . . Mueller makes approachable complex theoretical and empirical material [on] a topic of wide interest. . . . I see the book as a great instructional example of quantitative research done right. It gives readers both refreshing scholarly perspectives and fascinating talking points for intellectual cocktail parties.”