Revisiting the civic duty to keep informed in the new media environment

Journalism and Mass Communication Quaterly

Volumn 78, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 113-126

  Poindexter, Paula M ^a   McCombs, Maxwell E ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0040432958     PISSN: 10776990     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/107769900107800108     Document Type: Article

References (43)

1. Jay G. Blumler and Denis McQuail, Television in Politics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969), 82.
2. Facts About Newspapers (National Newspaper Association, 1999; www.naa.org/info/facts99); Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, "Internet Sapping Broadcast News Audience" (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 11 June 2000; www.peoplepress.org).
3. Facts About Newspapers (National Newspaper Association, 1999; www.naa.org/info/facts99); Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, "Internet Sapping Broadcast News Audience" (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 11 June 2000; www.peoplepress.org).
4. Robert Putnam, "Bowling Alone: Democracy in America at the End of the Twentieth Century" (paper presented at the Nobel Symposium "Democracy's Victory and Crisis," Uppsala, Sweden, 1994); Robert Putnam, "Bowling Alone," Journal of Democracy 6 (1995): 65-79.
5. Robert Putnam, "Bowling Alone: Democracy in America at the End of the Twentieth Century" (paper presented at the Nobel Symposium "Democracy's Victory and Crisis," Uppsala, Sweden, 1994); Robert Putnam, "Bowling Alone," Journal of Democracy 6 (1995): 65-79.
6. Angus Campbell, Gerald Gurin, and Warren Miller, The Voter Decides (Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson, 1954).
7. Maxwell McCombs and Paula Poindexter, "The Duty to Keep Informed: News Exposure and Civic Obligation," Journal of Communication 33 (spring 1983): 88-96.
8. Paula Poindexter, "Citizen Interest in the News" (report of the Communication Research Center, Syracuse University, 1978); McCombs and Poindexter, "The Duty to Keep Informed: News Exposure and Civic Obligation," 88-96.
9. Paula Poindexter, "Citizen Interest in the News" (report of the Communication Research Center, Syracuse University, 1978); McCombs and Poindexter, "The Duty to Keep Informed: News Exposure and Civic Obligation," 88-96.
10. David Weaver and Virginia Dodge Fielder, "Civic Attitudes and Newspaper Readership in Chicago," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 11-18; Warwick Blood, Gerald Keir, and Namjun Kang "Newspaper Use and Gratification in Hawaii," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 43-52; Orjan Olsen, "Measuring Civic Attitudes: Replications and Extensions," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 19-36; Lennart Weibull, "Newspaper Readership in Sweden," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 53-64.
11. David Weaver and Virginia Dodge Fielder, "Civic Attitudes and Newspaper Readership in Chicago," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 11-18; Warwick Blood, Gerald Keir, and Namjun Kang "Newspaper Use and Gratification in Hawaii," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 43-52; Orjan Olsen, "Measuring Civic Attitudes: Replications and Extensions," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 19-36; Lennart Weibull, "Newspaper Readership in Sweden," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 53-64.
12. David Weaver and Virginia Dodge Fielder, "Civic Attitudes and Newspaper Readership in Chicago," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 11-18; Warwick Blood, Gerald Keir, and Namjun Kang "Newspaper Use and Gratification in Hawaii," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 43-52; Orjan Olsen, "Measuring Civic Attitudes: Replications and Extensions," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 19-36; Lennart Weibull, "Newspaper Readership in Sweden," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 53-64.
13. David Weaver and Virginia Dodge Fielder, "Civic Attitudes and Newspaper Readership in Chicago," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 11-18; Warwick Blood, Gerald Keir, and Namjun Kang "Newspaper Use and Gratification in Hawaii," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 43-52; Orjan Olsen, "Measuring Civic Attitudes: Replications and Extensions," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 19-36; Lennart Weibull, "Newspaper Readership in Sweden," Newspaper Research Journal 4 (summer 1983): 53-64.
14. Robert E. Lane, Political Life: Why and How People Get Involved in Politics (New York: Free Press, 1959); Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture (Boston: Little, Brown, 1965); Lester W. Milbrath and M.L. Goel, Political Participation: How and Why Do People Get Involved in Politics? 2d ed. (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1977); Michael Schudson, The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999).
15. Robert E. Lane, Political Life: Why and How People Get Involved in Politics (New York: Free Press, 1959); Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture (Boston: Little, Brown, 1965); Lester W. Milbrath and M.L. Goel, Political Participation: How and Why Do People Get Involved in Politics? 2d ed. (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1977); Michael Schudson, The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999).
16. Robert E. Lane, Political Life: Why and How People Get Involved in Politics (New York: Free Press, 1959); Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture (Boston: Little, Brown, 1965); Lester W. Milbrath and M.L. Goel, Political Participation: How and Why Do People Get Involved in Politics? 2d ed. (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1977); Michael Schudson, The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999).
17. Robert E. Lane, Political Life: Why and How People Get Involved in Politics (New York: Free Press, 1959); Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture (Boston: Little, Brown, 1965); Lester W. Milbrath and M.L. Goel, Political Participation: How and Why Do People Get Involved in Politics? 2d ed. (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1977); Michael Schudson, The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999).
18. Almond and Verba, The Civic Culture, 53.
19. McCombs and Poindexter, "The Duty to Keep Informed: News Exposure and Civic Obligation," 88-96; Weaver and Fielder, "Civic Attitudes and Newspaper Readership in Chicago," 11-18; Blood, Keir, and Kang "Newspaper Use and Gratification in Hawaii," 43-52; Olsen, "Measuring Civic Attitudes: Replications and Extensions," 19-36; Weibull, "Newspaper Readership in Sweden," 53-64.
20. McCombs and Poindexter, "The Duty to Keep Informed: News Exposure and Civic Obligation," 88-96; Weaver and Fielder, "Civic Attitudes and Newspaper Readership in Chicago," 11-18; Blood, Keir, and Kang "Newspaper Use and Gratification in Hawaii," 43-52; Olsen, "Measuring Civic Attitudes: Replications and Extensions," 19-36; Weibull, "Newspaper Readership in Sweden," 53-64.
21. McCombs and Poindexter, "The Duty to Keep Informed: News Exposure and Civic Obligation," 88-96; Weaver and Fielder, "Civic Attitudes and Newspaper Readership in Chicago," 11-18; Blood, Keir, and Kang "Newspaper Use and Gratification in Hawaii," 43-52; Olsen, "Measuring Civic Attitudes: Replications and Extensions," 19-36; Weibull, "Newspaper Readership in Sweden," 53-64.
22. McCombs and Poindexter, "The Duty to Keep Informed: News Exposure and Civic Obligation," 88-96; Weaver and Fielder, "Civic Attitudes and Newspaper Readership in Chicago," 11-18; Blood, Keir, and Kang "Newspaper Use and Gratification in Hawaii," 43-52; Olsen, "Measuring Civic Attitudes: Replications and Extensions," 19-36; Weibull, "Newspaper Readership in Sweden," 53-64.
23. McCombs and Poindexter, "The Duty to Keep Informed: News Exposure and Civic Obligation," 88-96; Weaver and Fielder, "Civic Attitudes and Newspaper Readership in Chicago," 11-18; Blood, Keir, and Kang "Newspaper Use and Gratification in Hawaii," 43-52; Olsen, "Measuring Civic Attitudes: Replications and Extensions," 19-36; Weibull, "Newspaper Readership in Sweden," 53-64.
24. Morris Rosenberg, The Logic of Survey Analysis (NY: Basic Books, 1968).
25. Rosenberg, The Logic of Survey Analysis, 65.
26. Twenty-four-hour cable news channels include: CNN, Headline News, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC. In addition, C-SPAN provides twenty-four-hour coverage of Congress.
27. Anthony Smith, Goodbye Gutenberg: The Newspaper Revolution of the 1980s (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980); A. Michael Noll, Highway of Dreams: A Critical View Along the Information Superhighway (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1997).
28. Anthony Smith, Goodbye Gutenberg: The Newspaper Revolution of the 1980s (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980); A. Michael Noll, Highway of Dreams: A Critical View Along the Information Superhighway (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1997).
29. U.S. Department of Commerce, "Falling Through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion: A Report on Americans' Access to Technology Tools" (U.S. Department of Commerce, October 2000).
30. For discussions on the significance of replication in social science and communication research, see David T. Lykken, "Statistical Significance in Psychological Research," Psychological Bulletin 70 (1968): 151-59; Fred N. Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 2d ed. (NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973) 681; Clifford W. Kelly, Lawrence J. Chase, and Raymond K. Tucker, "Replication in Experimental Communication Research: An Analysis," Human Communication Research 5 (1979): 338-42; Maxwell McCombs, "Effect of Monopoly in Cleveland on Diversity of Newspaper Content," Journalism Quarterly 4 (winter 1987): 740-45; Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick, Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997), 35.
31. For discussions on the significance of replication in social science and communication research, see David T. Lykken, "Statistical Significance in Psychological Research," Psychological Bulletin 70 (1968): 151-59; Fred N. Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 2d ed. (NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973) 681; Clifford W. Kelly, Lawrence J. Chase, and Raymond K. Tucker, "Replication in Experimental Communication Research: An Analysis," Human Communication Research 5 (1979): 338-42; Maxwell McCombs, "Effect of Monopoly in Cleveland on Diversity of Newspaper Content," Journalism Quarterly 4 (winter 1987): 740-45; Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick, Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997), 35.
32. For discussions on the significance of replication in social science and communication research, see David T. Lykken, "Statistical Significance in Psychological Research," Psychological Bulletin 70 (1968): 151-59; Fred N. Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 2d ed. (NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973) 681; Clifford W. Kelly, Lawrence J. Chase, and Raymond K. Tucker, "Replication in Experimental Communication Research: An Analysis," Human Communication Research 5 (1979): 338-42; Maxwell McCombs, "Effect of Monopoly in Cleveland on Diversity of Newspaper Content," Journalism Quarterly 4 (winter 1987): 740-45; Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick, Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997), 35.
33. For discussions on the significance of replication in social science and communication research, see David T. Lykken, "Statistical Significance in Psychological Research," Psychological Bulletin 70 (1968): 151-59; Fred N. Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 2d ed. (NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973) 681; Clifford W. Kelly, Lawrence J. Chase, and Raymond K. Tucker, "Replication in Experimental Communication Research: An Analysis," Human Communication Research 5 (1979): 338-42; Maxwell McCombs, "Effect of Monopoly in Cleveland on Diversity of Newspaper Content," Journalism Quarterly 4 (winter 1987): 740-45; Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick, Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997), 35.
34. For discussions on the significance of replication in social science and communication research, see David T. Lykken, "Statistical Significance in Psychological Research," Psychological Bulletin 70 (1968): 151-59; Fred N. Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 2d ed. (NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973) 681; Clifford W. Kelly, Lawrence J. Chase, and Raymond K. Tucker, "Replication in Experimental Communication Research: An Analysis," Human Communication Research 5 (1979): 338-42; Maxwell McCombs, "Effect of Monopoly in Cleveland on Diversity of Newspaper Content," Journalism Quarterly 4 (winter 1987): 740-45; Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick, Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997), 35.
35. McCombs, "Effect of Monopoly in Cleveland on Diversity of Newspaper Content, 740-45.
36. Copyright 1978 by Maxwell McCombs and Paula Poindexter. Permission for use in other studies may be obtained from the authors.
37. For discussions on the Guttman Scale, see Samuel A. Stouffer, Measurement and Prediction: Studies in Social Psychology in World War II (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1950); Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 497-99;
38. For discussions on the Guttman Scale, see Samuel A. Stouffer, Measurement and Prediction: Studies in Social Psychology in World War II (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1950); Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 497-99; Louis L. Guttman, "The Basis for Scalogram Analysis," in Scaling: A Sourcebook for Behavioral Scientists, ed. G.M. Maranell (Chicago: Aldine, 1974); Delbert C. Miller, Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement, 3d ed. (NY: David McKay) 89-90; Keith Stamm, "Measurement Decisions" in Research Methods in Mass Communication, ed. Guido H. Stempel III and Bruce Westley (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1981), 87-104.
39. For discussions on the Guttman Scale, see Samuel A. Stouffer, Measurement and Prediction: Studies in Social Psychology in World War II (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1950); Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 497-99; Louis L. Guttman, "The Basis for Scalogram Analysis," in Scaling: A Sourcebook for Behavioral Scientists, ed. G.M. Maranell (Chicago: Aldine, 1974); Delbert C. Miller, Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement, 3d ed. (NY: David McKay) 89-90; Keith Stamm, "Measurement Decisions" in Research Methods in Mass Communication, ed. Guido H. Stempel III and Bruce Westley (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1981), 87-104.
40. For discussions on the Guttman Scale, see Samuel A. Stouffer, Measurement and Prediction: Studies in Social Psychology in World War II (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1950); Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 497-99; Louis L. Guttman, "The Basis for Scalogram Analysis," in Scaling: A Sourcebook for Behavioral Scientists, ed. G.M. Maranell (Chicago: Aldine, 1974); Delbert C. Miller, Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement, 3d ed. (NY: David McKay) 89-90; Keith Stamm, "Measurement Decisions" in Research Methods in Mass Communication, ed. Guido H. Stempel III and Bruce Westley (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1981), 87-104.
41. For discussions on the Guttman Scale, see Samuel A. Stouffer, Measurement and Prediction: Studies in Social Psychology in World War II (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1950); Kerlinger, Foundations of Behavioral Research, 497-99; Louis L. Guttman, "The Basis for Scalogram Analysis," in Scaling: A Sourcebook for Behavioral Scientists, ed. G.M. Maranell (Chicago: Aldine, 1974); Delbert C. Miller, Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement, 3d ed. (NY: David McKay) 89-90; Keith Stamm, "Measurement Decisions" in Research Methods in Mass Communication, ed. Guido H. Stempel III and Bruce Westley (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1981), 87-104.
42. Since detailed statistics from the 2000 census are not available for the survey area as of this writing, the sample statistics cannot be compared to the census. Also, a valid comparison cannot be made with the 1990 census, since one-third of the respondents have moved into the survey area within the past five years. Even so, it should be noted that demographic statistics of this survey are similar to surveys conducted by the first author in 1997 and 1999. The cut-off date for this survey, which was in the field for a week and a half, was the day before the state's 2000 presidential primary election. Overall completion rate (completed interviews divided by respondents reached) was 49%. When respondents who could not be reached after three attempts were factored in, response rate dropped to 31%. The results of an experiment conducted by The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press ("Opinion Poll Experiment Reveals Conservative Opinions Not Underestimated, but Racial Hostility Missed," 27 March 1998) suggests that the lower response rate may have negligible effects on the results. For a discussion of factors that may affect a sample's overall validity, see Paula M. Poindexter and Maxwell E. McCombs, Research in Mass Communication: A Practical Guide (Boston and NY: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000), 148-52.
43. Since detailed statistics from the 2000 census are not available for the survey area as of this writing, the sample statistics cannot be compared to the census. Also, a valid comparison cannot be made with the 1990 census, since one-third of the respondents have moved into the survey area within the past five years. Even so, it should be noted that demographic statistics of this survey are similar to surveys conducted by the first author in 1997 and 1999. The cut-off date for this survey, which was in the field for a week and a half, was the day before the state's 2000 presidential primary election. Overall completion rate (completed interviews divided by respondents reached) was 49%. When respondents who could not be reached after three attempts were factored in, response rate dropped to 31%. The results of an experiment conducted by The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press ("Opinion Poll Experiment Reveals Conservative Opinions Not Underestimated, but Racial Hostility Missed," 27 March 1998) suggests that the lower response rate may have negligible effects on the results. For a discussion of factors that may affect a sample's overall validity, see Paula M. Poindexter and Maxwell E. McCombs, Research in Mass Communication: A Practical Guide (Boston and NY: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000), 148-52.