In S.C., a window on a polarized world

Although there is more campaign news and commentary out there than ever before, people increasingly are tucking themselves inside information silos where they see mainly what they already agree with.

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Dianne Belsom is president of the Laurens County Tea Party in South Carolina.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

Dianne Belsom starts her day with e-mail and Facebook postings as she follows the presidential elections from her home in Laurens, S.C. Belsom supports former House speaker Newt Gingrich in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. She describes herself as “conservative, tea party, Christian.” She sometimes worries that, given her media choices, she’s not seeing the full picture, but she wants her family to live firmly in “our Christian worldview.”

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

Dianne and Desiree Belsom, with their dog, Trixie, at home in Laurens, S.C.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

Flynn McKinney, at home in Greer, S.C., calls herself a firm conservative, but she was considering voting for Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential primary even though she considers him a moderate Republican. She reads the online edition of the Greenville News, the local daily, and she and her husband, Clinton, watch the local TV news and then “NBC Nightly News” in the evening. They also watch the candidate debates.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

Flynn McKinney catches up on the news at home in Greer, S.C. Unlike many religious conservatives, McKinney has little animosity toward the news media. She’s more likely to read — and trust — the New York Times or washingtonpost.com than she is the conservative blogs that rail against liberal media bias.washingtonpost.com than she is the conservative blogs that rail against liberal media bias.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

Flynn McKinney reads the online edition of the Greenville News, the local daily, and she and her husband, Clinton, watch the local TV news and then “NBC Nightly News” in the evening. They also watch the candidate debates.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

James Akers Jr., 30, at home in Greenville, S.C. Akers is a local Democratic Party official in Greenville County. But he has been thinking of supporting Republican Mitt Romney for president.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

James Akers Jr. checks his Facebook and Twitter accounts at home in Greenville, S.C. Akers is a Democrat, but in conservative South Carolina, he finds that most of his friends are Republicans.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

James Akers Jr. recommends to his 798 followers on Twitter news articles and commentaries, almost all from sites that fit comfortably with his socially liberal perspective, including MSNBC, Huffington Post, Mother Jones and CNN.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

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