Americans' Exposure to Political Talk Radio and Their Knowledge of Public Affairs

Talk radio could help citizens obtain information to make reasoned political judgments. The 7 996 and 7 998 National Election Studies show that exposure to talk radio is not significantly related to political knowledge when other social-psychological factors are controlled. The finding that listening is not significantly linked to political knowledge may be explained by the fact that only a third of the public listens to talk radio and that these programs are entertainment driven by economic forces.