Competing for the Public Through the News Media David p B St anford universit Introduction est groups seek to influence economic activity through public and privat e polit ics Public politics takes place in the arenas of public instit ut ions, whereas privat e polit ics takes place out side public inst it ut ions oft en in the arena of public sent iment. Public polit ics fo- cuses on government policy, such as regulation and tax and expendit ure poli politics refers to action by interest groups direct ed at private parties, as in the case of an activist group launching a campaign against a firm. This can be independent of gov ernment but generally draws st rengt h from the public, as in the case of a boycott. This paper present s a model in which int erest groups compete for public sent iment through the news media to influence the public politics of regulat ion and private politics through the consumpt ion decisions of citizens. In addition, the paper provides an explanat ion of media bias in terms of the role of the news media in society n privat e politics act ivist st rat egies oft en focus on pressuring firms through the mem- bers of the public bot h in their roles as consumers and their roles as const it uents of publ officeholders. In response, opposing int erest groups may count eract those st rat egies through both private and public polit ical st rat egies. For example, the st rategic compet it ion bet ween activist s and firms frequent ly focuses on public sentiment about the activities of the firm The inst rument of t hat compet it ion is advocacy -communicat ing informat ion to the public favorable to the int erest groups objectives while remaining silent about information un- favorable to those objectives. This communication can be direct to the public, but it can be more efficient to communicate through the news media, which can be a low-cost means Friedman(1999, Ch. 8)found that 2 groups direct their communication strat egies to it, the news media has a role in private politics(Baron(2002)(2003b). The news media can be viewed as a private inst it ution in This research was support ed by NSF Grant No. SES-0111729. I would like to thank Bharat Anand, Larry Bartels, and seminar participants at Columbia University, Harvard University, and Princet on University for their commentsCompeting for the Public Through the News Media1 David P. Baron Stanford University I. Introduction Interest groups seek to influence economic activity through public and private politics. Public politics takes place in the arenas of public institutions, whereas private politics takes place outside public institutions often in the arena of public sentiment. Public politics fo￾cuses on government policy, such as regulation and tax and expenditure policy. Private politics refers to action by interest groups directed at private parties, as in the case of an activist group launching a campaign against a firm. This can be independent of gov￾ernment but generally draws strength from the public, as in the case of a boycott. This paper presents a model in which interest groups compete for public sentiment through the news media to influence the public politics of regulation and private politics through the consumption decisions of citizens. In addition, the paper provides an explanation of media bias in terms of the role of the news media in society. In private politics activist strategies often focus on pressuring firms through the mem￾bers of the public both in their roles as consumers and their roles as constituents of public officeholders. In response, opposing interest groups may counteract those strategies through both private and public political strategies. For example, the strategic competition between activists and firms frequently focuses on public sentiment about the activities of the firm. The instrument of that competition is advocacy—communicating information to the public favorable to the interest group’s objectives while remaining silent about information un￾favorable to those objectives. This communication can be direct to the public, but it can be more efficient to communicate through the news media, which can be a low-cost means of communicating with the public. In his study of 24 ecological boycotts led by activists Friedman (1999, Ch. 8) found that 22 were directed at the news media. Since interest groups direct their communication strategies to it, the news media has a role in private politics (Baron (2002)(2003b)). The news media can be viewed as a private institution in 1 This research was supported by NSF Grant No. SES-0111729. I would like to thank Bharat Anand, Larry Bartels, and seminar participants at Columbia University, Harvard University, and Princeton University for their comments. 1