Effects of Attention to Campaign Coverage on Political Trust

This study examines whether or not attention to campaign news influences political trust. It also explores whether political trust predicts attention to campaign news, and whether the mechanism of influence between attention to campaign news and political trust differs across educational levels. Political trust was operationalized as trust in government. The 1992 American National Election Survey data were used. Results of two-stage least squares analysis show that attention to television campaign coverage reduced trust in government, while a low level of trust in government increased attention to newspaper campaign coverage. More importantly, the mechanism of influence between political trust and attention to campaign coverage differed across educational levels. Among the less educated, attention to campaign coverage on television led to lower levels of trust. Among the more educated, a low level of trust in government increased attention to campaign coverage. The findings also indicate that the types of media (television vs. newspapers) matter when it comes to media effects on political trust, Implications of findings on the relationships between the concepts of political trust, vigilant skepticism, education, and media use are discussed.