“Stick to Sports”: Evidence from Sports Media on the Origins and Consequences of Newly Politicized Attitudes

Politics now intrudes into many aspects of social life. How does this occur and what are its consequences? We study the sources politicized attitudes toward ESPN, a sports media outlet involved in controversies where politics intersect, consider their implications for news use. assess two potential contributors to ESPN: exposure political criticizing network encounters with coverage. In survey-linked web browsing data survey experiment, led public evaluate ESPN terms, showing messages from elites can affect opinions entertainment media. contrast, ESPN’s typical coverage failed alter views network. also find these newly do not reduce use demonstrating intrusion seemingly apolitical setting may displace other considerations underlying behavior.