Predicting Americans’ Exposure to Political Talk Radio in 1996, 1998, and 2000

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.