The effects of political talk radio on political attitude formation: Exposure versus knowledge

The effects of political news on the mass audience are usually difficult to establish empirically. Recent models of mass communication effects have he ld that political knowledge is a better indicator of media reception than t raditional measures of exposure. This claim is tested in two studies of att itudes toward Democratic and Republican leaders during the 1996 U.S. presid ential primary campaigns. The impact of messages from three types of politi cal talk radio (PTR) is examined: Rush Limbaugh, other conservative hosts, and liberal/moderate hosts. Political knowledge and exposure to talk radio are found to be equally good predictors of attitudes toward political leade rs when studied separately. However, when tested against one another, expos ure is the more effective measure. Agreement between Rush Limbaugh's messag es and his audience's attitudes toward political figures is consistent and strong. Biased processing of PTR content by audience members with partisan predispositions contrary to those of the host is also examined.