Mass Communication and the Political Participation of Black Americans

A survey of N=268 black adults in San Francisco examines the role of mass media exposure in explaining three indices of political participation. In a hierarchical regression analysis, five demographic variables (education, age, income, perceived SES, and sex) are entered as the first set of predictors, and then three subjective orientations to society (anomie, black identity, and alienation from white society) as a second set. The addition of five measures of media use as a third set of predictors approximately doubles the amount of variance explained in each dependent variable. Reading general news magazines is the strongest predictor of each dependent variable. Other major predictors are reading of black news magazines, and attention to political issues on television and in newspapers. Campaign participation is predicted by viewing black public affairs television programs. Effects of education are partly indirect, operating through several media uses.