This article draws on the 1996-2000 National Election Studies to look at the size of political talk radio’s audience and to identify the factors predicting exposure. Interest in politics and distrust of mainstream media predict listening in every year. Other factors such as age, gender, race, partisanship, and ideology are significant predictors in one or two years but not others. Exposure to mainstream media outlets, education, and income are not significant predictors. This study updates research on exposure to political talk radio, particularly at a time when these shows’ audiences may be shrinking.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abramson, Paul R., John H. Aldrich, and David W. Rohde. 1999. Change and Continuity in the 1996 and 1998 Elections. Washington, D.C.: C. Q. Press.
2.
Andolina, Molly W., and Clyde Wilcox. 2000. “Public Opinion: The Paradox of Clinton’s Popularity.” In The Clinton Scandal and the Future of American Government, ed. Mark J. Rozell and Clyde Wilcox. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
3.
Annenberg Center.1996. Call-in Political Talk Radio: Background, Content, Audiences, Portrayal in the Mainstream Media. Philadelphia: Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania.
4.
Armstrong, Cameron B., and Alan M. Rubin. 1989. “Talk Radio as Interpersonal Communication.”Journal of Communication39(2):84-94.
5.
Avery, Robert K., Donald G. Ellis, and Thomas W. Glover. 1978. “Patterns of Communication on Talk Radio.”Journal of Broadcasting22(1):5-17.
6.
Barker, David C.1998. “The Talk Radio Community and Political Participation.”Social Science Quarterly79(2):261-272.
7.
Barker, David C., and Kathleen Knight. 2000. “Political Talk Radio and Public Opinion.”Public Opinion Quarterly64(2):149-170.
8.
Bennett, Stephen Earl.1998.“Political Talk Radio’s Relationships with Democratic Citizenship.”The American Review of Politics19(spring):17-30.
9.
Bierig, Jeffrey, and John Dimmick. 1979. “The Late Night Radio Talk Show as Interpersonal Communication.”Journalism Quarterly56(1):92-96.
10.
Bolce, Lois, Gerald DeMaio, and Douglas Muzzio. 1996. “Dial-in Democracy: Talk Radio and the 1994 Election.”Political Science Quarterly111(3):457-481.
11.
Cohen, Jacob, and Patricia Cohen. 1983. Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. 2nd ed.Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
12.
Crittenden, John. 1971.“ Democratic Functions of the Open Mike Radio Forum.”Public Opinion Quarterly35(2):200-210.
13.
Davis, Richard, and Diana Owen.1998. New Media and American Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.
14.
Diamond, Edmund, Martha McKay, and Robert Silverman. 1993. “Pop Goes Politics: New Media, Interactive Formats, and the 1992 Presidential Campaign.”American Behavioral Scientist37(8):257-261.
15.
Herbst, Susan.1995.“On Electronic Public Space: Talk Shows in Theoretical Perspective.”Political Communication12(2):263-274.
16.
Hershey, Marjorie Randon. 2001. “The Campaign and the Media.” In The Election of 2000, ed. Gerald M. Pomper. New York: Chatham House.
17.
Hofstetter, C. Richard. 1998. “Political Talk Radio, Situational Involvement, and Political Mobilization.”Social Science Quarterly79(2):273-286.
18.
Hofstetter, C. Richard, Mark C. Donovan, Melville R. Klauber, Alexandra Cole, Carolyn J. Huie, and Toshijuki Yuasa. 1994. “Political Talk Radio: A Stereotype Reconsidered. Political Research Quarterly47(2):467-479.
19.
Hofstetter, C. Richard, and Chris L. Gianos. 1997. “Political Talk Radio: Actions Speak Louder than Words.”Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media41(4):501-515.
20.
Hofstetter, C. Richard, with James T. Smith, Gina M. Zari, and Carolyn H. Hofstetter. 1998. “The Political Talk Radio Experience: A Community Study.”The American Review of Politics19(fall):217-237.
21.
Hollander, Barry A.1994.“Patterns in the Exposure and Influence of the Old News and the New News.”Mass Comm Review21(3/4):144-155.
22.
Hollander, Barry A.1995. “The New News and the 1992 Presidential Campaign: Perceived vs. Actual Political Knowledge.”Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly72(4):786-798.
23.
Hollander, Barry A.1996.“Talk Radio: Predictors of Use and Effects on Attitudes about Government.”Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly73(1):102-113.
24.
Hollander, Barry A.1997. “Fuel to the Fire: Talk Radio and the Gamson Hypothesis.”Political Communication14(3):355-369.
25.
Hollander, Barry A.1999. “Political Talk Radio in the 1990s: A Panel Study.”Journal of Radio Studies6(2):236-245.
26.
Just, Marion R.1997. “Candidate Strategies and the Media Campaign.” In The Election of 1996: Reports and Interpretations, ed. Gerald M. Pomper. Chatham, NJ: Chatham Houses.
27.
Katz, Jeffrey L.1993. “The Power of Talk.”Governing4(6):38-42.
28.
Kohut, Andrew, and Carolyn Bowman. 1995. “The Vocal Minority in U.S. Politics.” In Radio—The Forgotten Medium, ed. Edward C. Pease and Everette E. Dennis. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
29.
Kohut, Andrew, and Kimberly Parker. 1997. “Talk Radio and Gender Politics.” In Women, Media, and Politics, ed. Pippa Norris. New York: Oxford University Press.
30.
Kurtz, Howard. 1997. Hot Air: All Talk, All the Time. New York: Basic Books.
31.
Levin, Murray B.1987. Talk Radio and the American Dream. Lexington, MA: Lexington.
32.
Menard, Scott. 1995. Applied Logistic Regression Analysis. Sage University Paper series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 07-106. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
33.
Owen, Diana. 1996. “Who’s Talking, Who’s Listening: The New Politics of Talk Radio Shows.” In Broken Contract? Changing Relationships between Americans and Their Government, ed. Stephen C. Craig. Boulder, CO: Westview.
34.
Owen, Diana. 1997. “Talk Radio and Evaluations of President Clinton.”Political Communication14(3):127-146.
35.
Page, Benjamin I.1996. Who Deliberates? Mass Media in Modern Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
36.
Pampel, Fred C.2000. Logistic Regression: A Primer. Sage University Paper series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 07-132. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
37.
Pan, Zhongdang, and Gerald M. Kosicki. 1997. “Talk Show Exposure as an Opinion Activity.”Political Communication14(3):371-388.
38.
Pew Center. 2000, June 11. Internet Sapping Broadcast News Audience: Investors Now Go Online for Quotes, Advice. Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center for The People and The Press.
39.
Rehm, Diane. 1995. “Talking Over America’s Electronic Backyard Fence.” In Radio—The Forgotten Medium, ed. Edward C. Pease and Everette E. Dennis. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
40.
Rehm, Diane. 1996. “A Tower of Babel: Talk Shows and Politics.”Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics1(1):138-142.
41.
Tramer, Harriet, and Leo W. Jeffries. 1983. “Talk Radio: Forum and Companion.”Journal of Broadcasting27(3):297-300.
42.
Traugott, Michael, Adam Berinsky, Katherine Cramer, Margaret Howard, Russell Mayer, Harvey Prieto Schuckman, David Tewksbury, and Margaret Young. 1996. The Impact of Talk Radio on Its Audience. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, June 30-July 3.
43.
Turow, Joseph. 1974. “Talk Show Radio as Interpersonal Communication.”Journal of Broadcasting18(2):171-179.
