From Politics to Entertainment: Exploring “News Finds Me” Perceptions Across News Topics

The “News Finds Me” (NFM) perception captures the common belief that one can stay informed without actively seeking news. This study aims to extend previous research by comparing the widely used general NFM measure with topic-specific perceptions of entertainment, sports, politics, COVID-19, and climate change news. We assess the strength, predictors, and outcomes of NFM perceptions across those different thematic domains. Our findings show that NFM perceptions are stronger for soft news (entertainment and sports) compared to hard news (politics, COVID-19, climate change). In addition, interest in a news topic is associated with lower NFM perceptions for hard news and higher perceptions for soft news. While the traditional NFM measure reflects “News Finds Me” perceptions in politics and COVID-19 well, it is not as effective in capturing perceptions of climate change and soft news. Our results emphasize the need to explore different news genres to better understand news consumption beliefs and behaviors.