Mass media play a crucial role in the smooth running of democracy, and the democratic process is almost impossible without independent media. Closs and Nikoltchev (2004) argued that politics and media have an interdependent relationship and therefore media play an important role in political elections. Mass media communicate the agendas and manifestos of political parties and thus influence the electoral process.

Merolla and Soto (2011) argued that in a democratic system media scrutinize the successes and failures of governments, candidates, and electoral bodies. The media not only serves as a source of information for voters but also decides the political agenda (Merolla & Soto, 2011).

Media play a significant role in shaping political opinions and party choices of voters as people learn about politics through media. DellaVigna and Kaplan (2008) assert the news media may bias voters, and hence bias the policy decisions. The news media is biased whenever it presents inaccurate or misrepresent facts and frame issues to support a certain point of view.

Objectivity in Media

Objectivity in news media is crucial as the norm of objectivity stresses on the provision of information rather than analysis. Media must fulfill their important role in a democratic society as the facilitator of knowledge and objectively present information (Schudson, 2001). News media objectivity should assist citizens in making informed and accurate political decisions.

Political Effects of Media

It is important to document the effects of mass media bias on voters in Pakistan in general elections because private television channels play an important role in the political education of the voters. Levitsky and Way (2012) argued that the news media itself has a right to completely analyze the electoral process. Elections are the crucial challenge to the news media as it tests objectivity and impartiality in media. Media scholars had expressed concerns that media form voter perceptions in democratic processes (Boulianne, 2011).

Political Communication

Political communication is the use of media to influence the way the public vote and how political decisions are made (Foster, 2010). Opinions, attitudes, and even behavior are no longer believed to be immune to media influences (Schmitt-Beck, 2004). Relationships between political communication and political behaviors are tied to specific settings and contexts (Craig, 2004).

Media as a Campaign Platform

Candidates and political parties have an explicit right to provide the electorate information regarding their political agendas and proposed plans. Candidates and parties use the mass media for campaigning through sponsored direct access spots, paid political advertising, televised debates, and use of social media.

Media Bias in Elections

It is important to examine and document media bias is elections. During elections, people vote based on their knowledge of candidates, and much of this knowledge comes from the mass media. Kuyper (2002) argued that the knowledge that voters' gain of candidates can be twisted by media bias.

Media in Pakistan acquired the much-desired freedom since 2002, and the number of television channels has grown. Present media in Pakistan is highlighting issues without considering its impact (Mezzera & Sial, 2010). Media can attract and direct attention to any issue that favors power and correlatively divert attention from rival groups (Kelly & Pax, 2004).

Problem Statement

Exposure to media bias persuades voters and thus affects the electoral process. Media frame news information and influence media consumers’ political choices that ultimately affect the electoral process (Strömberg, 2015). The study investigated “the effects of media bias on voters’ political behavior and electoral process”. The study investigated the problematic influence of media conglomerates setting the agenda for voters in a democratic society.

Objectives of the Study

The study explored the political consequences of media fragmentation and the polarization of the television news audience.

The objectives of the study:

1. To investigate the effects of television news channels on voters’ political behaviors.

2. To evaluate whether television news channels bias influences voters’ political behaviors.

3. To investigate as to what extent television news channels influence the electoral process in Pakistan.

4. To explore that television news channels create the importance of a news item by the placement of it.

Significance of the Study

The study provides readers an understanding that how media outlets slant and frame news content to influence voters’ political behaviors and the electoral process. Media biases in a democratic society always remain a problem in the way of free and fair elections. This study will educate the audience on how media messages influence their political perceptions which would help them in making informed political decisions.

The Rationale of the Study

This study investigated the effects of news media bias on voters’ political behavior with emphasis on measuring these effects on enrolled university students in Islamabad. The study was important, as there was a general concern in the society about news media (television channels) and their impact/effects on voters particularly if they were heavy viewers of television. However, little had been paid in the past to the actual consumption of television and its impact on the audience in Pakistan.

Selection of Television

Television has been put under analysis as it is the most readily available form of media and popular among the masses in Pakistan. Its rapid spread and acceptance within a short period, entitles a proper study to gauge its effects. Thus, the research intended to examine the effects of television on its consumers.

Media play a significant role in influencing political opinions during elections as free and independent media have always been recognized as a foundation of democracy. Several media researchers have investigated the influence of media over political opinions.

Fang and Knight (2008) claim that mass media endorsements are influential in the sense that voters are more likely to support the recommended candidate. Taylor (2013) argues that exposure to extreme media produces political knowledge and efficacy, but decreases trust in government.

Studying the political impact of media bias, DellaVigna and Kaplan (2008) argue that the introduction of Fox News had a small but significant effect on the vote share in Presidential elections. Bernhardt, Krasa, and Polborn (2006) assert that media bias can affect election outcomes. They assert that media organizations’ profits are dependent on their reach to the audience. Increasing profits may engage in catering to a partisan audience by slanting and framing the news.

Exploring the coverage patterns of PTI in light of agenda-setting, framing and priming theories in two leading English dailies: Dawn and The News; Jan, Raza, Siddiq, and Saleem (2013) found that the daily Dawn remained objective most of the time while the approach of The News remained biased.

Gerber, Karlan, and Bergan (2009) found that exposure to a daily newspaper appears to influence voting behavior. Media has the power to influence voters’ political beliefs by emphasizing on particular issues Chandrappa (2014). As more media outlets adopt a narrowcasting strategy, the number of instances where voters are likely to hold strong prior beliefs concerning outlet ideological orientation is likely to increase (Baum and Gussin 2005).

While covering political campaigns, media emphasize certain issues and frame events in particular ways ultimately affect voters’ political beliefs and behaviors (Druckman & Parkin, 2005). Safdar, Shabir, Imran, and Ghaznavi (2015) found that the media played a significant role in increasing voters' turnout in the 2013 general elections in Pakistan.

While examining the impact of media on voting behavior, Yavuz (2012) argued that exposure to particular media outlets had a significant influence on shifting votes from traditional parties to new ones. Dobrzynska, Blais, and Nadeau (2001) found that during the election campaign, voters' support for a political party increased when media coverage of that party was supportive. Javaid and Elahi (2014) argue that there exists a positive relationship between exposure to media and its effects on voting behavior.

Exposure to media is significantly associated with voter awareness of the campaign, as well as voter opinions of increased campaign activity and opinions of increased political standing (Walker 1990).

Sears and Weber (1988) observed that while parents' attitudes appeared to be the greatest influence upon the political awareness of the younger children, television appeared to be the strongest influence upon the older ones. Druckman and Parkin (2005) demonstrate that editorial slant influenced voters during the 2000 Minnesota Senate Campaign by using an Election Day exit poll to gather their data.

Smidt (2007) argues that the news media set the agenda for both voters and candidates and eventually influence the public’s political beliefs and election results. Baun and Gussin (2005) assert that the media stress on certain political issues is supposed as favoring one party over another and, in turn, individuals recognize certain media organizations as biased.

While exploring the effects of Pakistani private television channels on political opinion, Arafat (2013) found that political leaders, party, and Biradrism are more powerful factors in forming political opinions as compared to television. Yousaf (2012) argues that the introduction of social media has made instant communication possible and exposed huge reliability to diverse cultures.

Several studies have examined the mass media's role in shaping behaviors and attitudes. Some argue that the media role varies according to the nature of communication channels; others are of the view that the effects may be different based on the difference in demographic characteristics. Based on several studies and researches it is clear that there is a pattern of media bias in media. However, there seems to be some disagreement as to whether media bias does in fact influence voter perceptions and political outcomes.

The general elections certainly need more investigation, especially with analyzing the media coverage and its effects on voters. It can be concluded that media outlets tend to favor one side of the political spectrum in their news coverage.

Theoretical Framework

The core purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of television channels on the political opinions and behaviors of voters. There was a need for such theories that could explain the uses and consequences of the television news channels in Pakistan. The main part of the present research comes under the effect of tradition. It demands discussion on theories based on observational learning and information processing emphasizes the lasting effects of exposure to news media contents. Thus, the study applied ‘Cultivation Theory’ in terms of effect through exposure to television. Cultivation Theory states that heavy exposure to mass media namely television creates and cultivates attitudes more consistent with a media conjured version of reality than with what actual reality is.

Research Questions

RQ1: Whether the consumption of television news affect the political behaviors of voters?

RQ2: Whether and to what extent bias in the television news influences voters’ political behaviors?

RQ3: What is the relationship between voters' political content consumption patterns and voters' political participation?

The quantitative method of research was employed to investigate the effects of television news on voters’ political behavior. The survey technique has been applied to gather the data directly from a large representative population. The population of the study was comprised of students who were registered voters (Male/Female) and enrolled in public sector universities of Islamabad. The study was confined to three universities, i.e. International Islamic University Islamabad, National University of Modern Languages, and Quaid-e-Azam University. Equal respondents from each university were selected for the sample of 300 students through non-probability purposive sampling technique to ensure that findings could be generalized to the entire population. The units of analysis were male and female students enrolled in the universities in Islamabad. The required data for the study was collected through the use of a questionnaire as an instrument. The stratum was equally divided into 150 male and 150 female respondents. The Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analysis of the data.

Operationalization of Variables

News Media: The news media is defined as television news channels in Pakistan that provide political news coverage and inform masses about the overall political situation.

Media Bias: The term ‘media bias’ was defined as when a television news channel reports a news story in a partial or prejudiced manner to support a particular political party.

Political Opinions: In this study, political opinions are referred to as opinions of potential voters about different political parties and candidates.

Political Behavior: In this study, political behavior means political views, ideology, and levels of political participation of potential voters in Pakistan.

Electoral Process: In this study, the electoral process means the selection of public representatives by a vote of Pakistani nationals in a democratic process.

The study raised three research questions to investigate the effects of news media bias on voters’ political behaviors. The first research question explored the consumption of television news and its effects on voters’ political behaviors. The second research question explored the influence of the television news bias on voters’ political behaviors. The third research question investigated the relationship between voters' news consumption patterns and political participation.

Effects of Television News on Political Behaviors of Voters

Table 1.What did you think is Affecting your Choice of Political Parties?

The table indicates that 64 percent of the respondents consider news media as the key factor in affecting their choice of a political party. Similarly, the table indicates that 72 percent of the respondents opined that news media has a strong influence over voters’ political opinions in Pakistan.

Table 3. To what extent do you think News Media Affect the Public’s Political Opinions?

The table shows that 53 percent of the respondents consider news media as an important factor in influencing their political opinions and behaviors.

The table indicates that 78 percent of the respondents opined that news media affect the public’s political opinions. Similarly, 80 percent of the respondents consider news media as a significant factor to influence the public’s political opinions during general elections.

The table indicates that 51 percent of the respondents rely on news media to form opinions on political issues; whereas, 24 percent sometimes rely on news media for forming a political opinion.

Table 5. News Media Present the Actual Content of Information.

The table shows 62 percent of the respondents rejected the notion that television news channels present actual news. Similarly, 79 percent of the respondents believe that news channels favor one political party as compared to others.

The News Media Bias Influence on Voters’ Political Behaviors

The table shows that 24 percent of the respondents believe that news channels are objective while covering political issues; whereas, 60 percent believe that news channels are biased. Similarly, 38 percent of the respondents see no objectivity in news media.

Table 7. Television news Media Frame and Slant Actual Content to Mold Public Opinions

The table indicates that 72 percent of the respondents believe that news channels slant and frame information to mold public opinion. Similarly, 74 percent of respondents believe that news channels design political communications to support certain political parties.

The table indicates that 75 percent of the respondents believe that news channels are biased in political news coverage. Furthermore, 78 percent of the respondents believe that news channels are biased in political news coverage.

Table 9. News Media Bias Influences Political Opinions and Attitudes of Voters.

The table shows that 77 percent of the respondents believe that news media bias influences political opinions and attitudes of voters.

The table indicates 83 percent of the respondents believe that news media has a strong influence over the electoral process.

The table indicates that 80 percent of the respondents believe that news channels are biased while covering political issues. Furthermore, 73 percent of the respondents believe that television talk shows’ hosts are politically biased.

News Consumption Patterns and Political Participation

Table 12. Which of the News Channels do you watch more?

The table indicates that respondents, who watch Geo News more than other news channels, support PML-N; whereas, respondents who watch ARY News more than the other news channels support PTI.

The study explored the effects of news media bias on voter’s political behavior. The media is biased whenever it frames issues in a particular way to support a certain viewpoint. Biased news media affect the public's understanding of current events and issues without giving the public all the facts (Lawrence, 2016).

The study results found that the majority of the respondents consider news media as the key factor in affecting voters’ choice of political parties. The study results confirm that the news media has a strong influence over the political affiliation of voters and influence over voters’ political opinions in Pakistan. The study found that news media affect political opinions and behaviors of voters. The study respondents consider news media as a factor in influencing their political behavior. A strong majority of the respondents opined that news media affect the public’s political opinions. Similarly, a strong majority consider news media as a strong factor to influence the public’s political opinions during general elections. The majority of the respondents rely on news media for opinion formation on political issues.

A strong majority of the respondents believe that news channels slant facts before broadcasting to mold the audience’s opinions on political issues. The study respondents believe that news channels are taking sides with political parties and favor one political party over the others. The respondents also opined that news channels are subjective rather than objective while covering political issues. The findings signify that news channels slant and frame actual contents to mold public opinions. The study found that news channels slant and frame political contents to support certain political parties. Respondents of the study believe that news media bias influences political opinions and attitudes of voters. They believe that news media play a very crucial role in the formation of political opinions of potential voters.

Findings suggest that media emphasize on certain issues, frame events in particular ways, and represent political candidates in different ways that ultimately affect voters’ political beliefs and behaviors. Respondents believe that news media has a strong influence on the electoral process and plays a crucial role in influencing the electoral process.

The study found that news channels are biased while covering political issues. Respondents believe that television news channels’ political talk show hosts are politically biased. The study found a significant relationship between voters’ political content consumption patterns and voters' political participation.

Conclusion

The study explored the “effects of media bias on voters” as media play a crucial role in political elections. The relationship between media and politics becomes more evident in the time of pre-election and elections. Media effect political election and their campaigns by communicating the agendas and manifestos of different political parties. The strong influence of media on the political election can change the fate of any electoral candidate or party. The study findings confirmed that television channels exercise strong influence over voters’ political opinions, attitudes, behaviors as well as the electoral process. The study found that exposure to news channels affects the political opinions of potential voters. People are doubtful of trusting the mainstream media, and evidence presented in this study indicates that news media is biased while covering political issues. The study found that news channels slant and frame actual contents to mold public opinions and support certain political parties. The study confirmed that news media bias influences political opinions and attitudes of voters. More importantly, the study also indicates that voting choice is associated with news channels usage. It was found that the more the voters watch a particular news channel, the more the voters are likely to vote for the political party being supported by the particular news channel.