A Spatial Theory of Media Slant and Voter Choice. Review of Economic Studies, forthcoming

We develop a theory of media slant as a systematic \u85ltering of polit-ical news that reduces multidimensional politics to the one-dimensional space perceived by voters. In a two-candidate election, we show that media favoring the frontrunner will focus on issues unlikely to deliver a surprise overturning the ex ante preferences of the electorate, while media favoring the underdog will gamble for resurrection. We char-acterize the socially optimal slant and show it coincides with the one favored by the underdog under a variety of circumstances. Balanced media, giving each issue equal coverage, may be worse for voters than partisan media