1. The media makes people better informed and more politically active. However, it rarely changes voting intention. This is because people rarely change their voting intention in the first place and also because they tend to get their news from sources that share their viewpoint. Though it is widely believed that this is a modern phenomenon in an era dominated by partisan outlets such as Fox News and MSNBC, that is simply not true. Research in the 1940s noted the pattern back then.

2. Most large media outlets in the U.S. are centrist. The author cites a 2005 study that concluded that, while most newspapers are center-left, 18 of the 20 media outlets it examined held political positions that were in between Joe Lieberman (a centrist Democrat) and Susan Collins (a centrist Republican).

3. Yes, a partisan media contributes to polarization. But it should be kept in mind that partisan media simply strengthens preexisting divisions in society.