Listening Brief

Why did “pink slime” in human food take so long to appear in the news?  How is our generosity affected by disaster stories? Would voters be influenced by sensational stories even if they are not about the candidates? This week’s guest, Jonathan Spiteri,  shares his explorations of media bias and advertising, how coverage of stories can influence charitable giving, and how sensational news stories can change the way people vote. Jonathan uses an interesting mix of economic modelling and survey data to tackle these questions. He’s just completing his PhD in economics at the University of Edinburgh. Read more about his work here.… Read the rest