The “Deliberative Digital Divide:” Opinion Leadership and Integrative Complexity in the U.S. Political Blogosphere Jennifer Brundidge University of Texas at Austin Scott A. Reid University of California, Santa Barbara Sujin Choi Kookmin University Ashley Muddiman University of Wyoming This study examined the association between political ideology and linguistic indicators of integrative com- plexity and opinion leadership in U.S. political blog posts (N = 519). Using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) text analysis, we found that the posts of conservative bloggers were more integratively simple than those of liberal bloggers. Furthermore, in support of a proposed opinion leadership model of integrative complexity, the relationship between ideology and integrative complexity was mediated by psychological distancing (an indicator of a hierarchical communication style). These findings demonstrate an ideological divide in the extent to which the blogosphere reflects deliberative democratic ideals. KEY WORDS: integrative complexity, opinion leadership, blogs, LIWC, Linguistic Inquiry Word Count, ideology, politi- cal, internet, deliberative democracy Ideologically aligned blogs have become a prominent political force in the U.S. media landscape—a development welcomed more by some than others. Some observers see the interactive, personal, and opinionated style of news displayed in blogs as more transparent and egalitarian than that found in “traditional” news (Robinson, 2006; Wall, 2005). By allowing citizens “to see the journalist as a human being, connecting with them without [a] stiff, imperial voice” (Pohlig, 2003, p. 25), bloggers are unlike the “mass media elite” and more akin to “opinion leaders” in the arena of public affairs (Campus, 2012; Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955/2006). Less sanguine observers note the propensity of blog content toward “hyperbolic outrage” (Sobieraj & Berry, 2011) and ideological extremes (Bennett & Iyengar, 2008; Stroud, 2010; 2011). Furthermore, partisan selective exposure combined with the intra-ideological linking structure of political blogs (Adamic & Glance, 2005) results in a polarized media environment (e.g., Baum & Groeling, 2008; Bennett & Iyengar, 2008; Stroud, 2010, 2011; Sunstein, 2001, 2008). This state of affairs may undermine the achievement of rational consensus and a “public sphere,” both of which Political Psychology, Vol. xx, No. xx, 2014 doi: 10.1111/pops.12201 1 0162-895X © 2014 International Society of Political Psychology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, and PO Box 378 Carlton South, 3053 Victoria, Australia