Learning to Be Inclusive? Testing the Effects of News Media Diet on Attitudes Toward LGT Equality.

This study analyzed a large national survey, the 2016 version of American National Election Study (ANES), to identify the predictors of attitudes toward the equal rights of lesbians, gay men, and transgender individuals. Egalitarian attitudes are associated with being female, younger, more liberal, less Republican, having a higher income and a lower level of fundamentalist religiosity, as well as consuming a wider variety of news media. Liberals tend to consume a larger number of news sources than conservatives. Also, news media diet mediates, instead of moderates, the effects of political ideology on support for the LGT community. Overall, a healthy diet of news media is associated with support for equality rights.