Mapping Media Perceptions: Unveiling the Attitude Networks Toward News Media

This study introduces a novel approach to understanding audience attitudes toward news media by applying network analysis, conceptualizing them as interconnected networks of cognitive and affective evaluations. Using survey data (N = 500) from South Korea, this study examines attitude networks related to both general news media and specific outlets. Through pairwise comparisons, we identify distinct structural patterns and key relational links that reveal the complexity of audience responses. The results show that attitude networks vary qualitatively across news outlets, highlighting structural differences that might be overlooked by relying solely on aggregate scores. These insights offer a more nuanced perspective on audience-media interactions, enriching our understanding beyond traditional evaluation metrics.