POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE AND THE CAMPAIGN MEDIA OF 1992

Effects of various mass media on political learning during the 1992 pr esidential campaign are examined via analyses of two voter surveys con ducted in different states. Three indicators of political knowledge ar e compared: differences on issues between parties (Republican vs. Demo cratic), differences on issues among candidates (Bush vs. Clinton vs. Perot), and personal knowledge about the candidates (Bush, Clinton, an d Perot). Campaign media, including both news coverage and special eve nts (conventions, debates), added significantly to the prediction of b oth kinds of knowledge about the candidates, even after controlling fo r major demographic variables and for habitual uses of news media. Of the new forms of media campaigning that became prominent in 1992, at l east the interview/talk show format apparently added to voter learning about candidates. Television sources of various types tended to contr ibute more to learning about the candidates, whereas the newspaper was the medium more associated with knowledge of policy differences betwe en the two major parties.