The news avoidance paradox? Exploring the relationship between news repertoires and intentional news avoidance

In this paper, we explore the complex relationship between news use and intentional news avoidance. Based on a survey conducted ( N = 2,798) in the Netherlands and a latent profile analysis, we first identified nine different types of news users. We find that news avoidance differs across those types. While people that belong to the profiles that use news less frequently or through less established channels report that they engage more in news avoiding behavior, also news omnivores frequently avoid the news. Mainly individuals that belong to profiles where traditional media use features most prominently report never avoiding the news. These findings confirm the idea that intentional news avoidance is not a simple concept that divides people into those that consume and those that do not consume news, but is rather a more complex and dynamic phenomenon.