  We present a model of news media that shape consumer beliefs by providing
information (signals about an exogenous state) and narratives (models of what
determines outcomes). To amplify consumers' engagement, media maximize
consumers' anticipatory utility. Focusing on a class of separable consumer
preferences, we show that a monopolistic media platform facing homogenous
consumers provides a false "empowering" narrative coupled with an
optimistically biased signal. Consumer heterogeneity gives rise to a novel
menu-design problem due to a "data externality" among consumers. The optimal
menu features multiple narratives and creates polarized beliefs. These effects
also arise in a competitive media market model.
