Bridging Divides Research
Person-Centered Terms Encourage Stigmatized Groups...
August 24, 2022
The Center for Media Engagement partnered with Resolve Philly to explore a small, yet impactful, way that journalists can connect with misrepresented or stigmatized audiences: using person-centered language, as opposed to stereotypical labels, to describe communities in news articles....
Understanding Election Fraud Beliefs: Interviews ...
June 9, 2022
The Center for Media Engagement interviewed 56 people who believed that Donald Trump most likely won the 2020 presidential election to talk about their political outlooks, how they constructed their picture of what happened in the election, and what sources they trusted to tell them the truth....
Bridging Political Divides with Facebook Memes
April 28, 2022
Previous research by the Center for Media Engagement found that a sense of common humanity – where people recognize that their own failings are common human experiences – can help bring people together. Now we examine whether this feeling can be fostered with something as simple as a meme....
Making Your Political Point Online Without Driving...
December 15, 2021
The Center for Media Engagement tested a tool that makes digital conversations across divides easier: expressing humility when sharing a political opinion. The results showed that writing online posts with humility can help bridge divides....
A Better Way to Tell Protest Stories
October 28, 2021
Protest coverage often casts protesters and their causes in a negative light, particularly when covering underrepresented groups. To help journalists frame stories in ways that do not harm these groups, the Center for Media Engagement examined two story areas of particular concern....
How Local Newsrooms Can Better Connect with Conser...
August 16, 2021
The Center for Media Engagement partnered with Trusting News and 27 local newsrooms to investigate how news organizations can help bridge the divide between the media and American conservative and right-leaning audiences....
Communicating Science Across Political Divides
August 4, 2021
The Center for Media Engagement asked U.S. citizens about their expectations related to how scientists communicate with them....
How to Connect with Disinvested Local News Audienc...
July 7, 2021
The Center for Media Engagement partnered with the Dallas Free Press to explore how Dallas residents perceive local media and how they think that media can better serve their communities....
What Americans Know and Don’t Know about Con...
May 20, 2021
We asked adults about a range of hot-button issues to find out how much the American public knows about contentious political issues....
What Americans Know and Don’t Know about Fac...
March 3, 2021
The Center for Media Engagement asked American adults to answer questions about how platforms like Facebook and Google operate. The answers we received revealed important gaps in what the American public knows about how these platforms work....
News Distrust Among Black Americans is a Fixable P...
November 18, 2020
The Center for Media Engagement asked Black Americans how news organizations can better cover their communities to help bridge the divide between them and the media....
Being Compassionate with Yourself May Help Bridge ...
September 17, 2020
Being able to form relationships with people you disagree with or viewing them with compassion is not easy. In this study, the Center for Media Engagement wanted to find out what types of personal self-compassion are more common among people who are better at doing this....
Finding Common Ground: Habits that May Help
August 30, 2020
As politics continue to push Americans further apart, it can be difficult to find common ground. The Center for Media Engagement wanted to see what habits are common in people who find ways to get along with people they disagree with politically....
Adding Humanizing Details to News Articles Produce...
August 6, 2020
The Center for Media Engagement wanted to know whether adding humanizing details about people when reporting on controversial political issues could help bring readers together across lines of difference and improve attitudes toward news organizations....
How to Talk to People Who Disagree with You Politi...
July 30, 2020
How can you communicate with people you disagree with politically? This report reveals five strategies you can use....
Images That Generate Clicks Among Both Liberals an...
December 17, 2019
The Center for Media Engagement partnered with ProPublica to determine if news story headlines and images can be crafted in ways that appeal to both liberals and conservatives. We…...
Making Strangers Less Strange
November 14, 2018
In the aftermath of the 2018 midterm elections, it is clear that our country is divided. This report reviews best practices from academics and journalists on how to bring diverse groups together....