The Quality of the Measurement of Interest in the Political Issues presented in the Media in the ESS

It is simply impossible to know all about the world by one's own experience. Therefore, the media have an important role to play in informing people about events that occur and the interpretation of these events. However, people do not have to pay attention to this information. There is a significant difference between people's interest in a topic and following it in the media. Given the importance of the media for opinion building in Europe, the European Social Survey (ESS) included questions about the media in its questionnaire. In this study we concentrate on the measurement of 'Interest in Political Issues presented in the Media'. In the context of political orientation, this variable plays an important role. We evaluate the quality of the measurement instrument and the comparability of the measures across the European countries involved in the ESS. External validity of the instrument will be studied by examining whether relationships suggested in the literature for this measure are indeed found.