POLITICAL TALK RADIO - A STEREOTYPE RECONSIDERED

Despite its popularity and controversial character, few studies of pol itical talk radio have been conducted. Little evidence for the hypothe sis that political talk radio leads to alienation, social and politica l isolation, cynicism, and political withdrawal was found among a popu lation-based sample of 525 adults in San Diego, California. Respondent s reported widespread exposure to talk radio, although they often did not discriminate accurately among political, nonpolitical, and other p rogramming. Exposure was associated with traditional forms of politica l participation, beliefs in self-efficacy linked to specific political behaviors, and psychological involvement in politics. Increased penet ration of the public may have altered the nature of the political talk radio audience so that exposure to talk radio is more closely associa ted with customary forms of political involvement than with social and political alienation.