A survey of 1,010 randomly selected adults asked about media use and belief in three conspiracy theories about the attacks of September 11, 2001. "Paranoid style" and "cultural sociology" theories are outlined, and empirical support is found for both. Patterns vary somewhat by conspiracy theory, but members of less powerful groups (racial minorities, lower social class, women, younger ages) are more likely to believe at least one of the conspiracies, as are those with low levels of media involvement and consumers of less legitimate media (blogs and grocery store tabloids). Consumers of legitimate media (daily newspapers and network TV news) are less likely to believe at least one of the conspiracies, although these relationships are not signifcant after controlling for social structural variables. Beliefs in all three conspiracies are aligned with mainstream political party divisions, evidence that conspiracy thinking is now a normal part of mainstream political conflict in the United States.In the last twenty years there has been a surge of scholarly interest in rumors and conspiracy theories. Only a few have conducted systematic studies of conspiracy believers or the social factors contributing to belief, but there is no shortage of thoughtful and provocative theorizing. Much of this expanding literature suggests that conspiracy theories provide clarity of vision and clear targets for addressing the confusions, frustrations, and insecurities of living in contemporary societies which are characterized by rapid social change; a multiplicity of voices and interests; multi-level, multi-polar balances of power where those at higher levels maintain control through secrecy and controlling information; declining individual autonomy; increasing risk awareness associated with technological advances and "post-scarcity" conditions; high levels of social and geographic mobility; declining trust in national governments; and post-9 / 11 fears of terrorist/outsider threats.' While these theories are stimulating and insightful, we believe there is a need to bring more systematic evidence to bear on two basic questions: Who believes conspiracy theories, and what sources of information are associated with believing conspiracy theories? Carl Stempel is an associate professor of Sociology and Social Services at California State University, East Bay. Thomas Hargrove is a reporter and researcherlmethodologist for the Scripps Howard News Service. Guido H. Stempel 111 is a distinguished Professor Emeritus in the E. w. Scripps School of ]ournahn at Ohio University. The SCrippS Howard Foundation providedfunding for this study. MEDIA USE, SOCIAL STRUCTURE, A N D BELIEF IN 9/11 CONSPIRACY THEORIES W M C Quarterly "Of. s4, ~~~~2 0 0 7 02007AEJMC 353 at HEC Montreal on June 25, 2015 jmq.sagepub.com Downloaded from

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This national survey of media useshows a huge gain for Internet use in the last four years and decline for both local and network television news and for newspapers. Comparison of those who use the Internet and those who do not shows that Internet users are more likely than non-users to be newspaper readers and radio news listeners. For both local and network television news viewing, there is no significant difference between users and non-users of the Internet. Clearly, the Internet is not the cause of the decline in use of the other media.

Respondents' tendency to evaluate their own medical care favorably but to be quite critical of American health care as a whole suggests that people rely more heavily on media coverage in assessing society-wide care than in evaluating their own lives.Recent surveys have contradicted the conventional wisdom that "the grass is greener on the other side of the street": It appears that Americans often feel optimistic about their personal lives and futures, but quite the opposite about society as a whole. In this article we discuss the phenomenon and three possible explanations, along with evidence from a sample of Ohio residents on health care issues that supports an explanation relating to media coverage of those issues.Numerous polls and surveys show that Americans find that the "grass is greener in my own yard" on a variety of issues. In a Gallup survey of January 1981, only 19 percent of respondents were satisfied with how things were going in the country. Yet 83 percent expressed satisfaction with their own personal lives (13).In a continuing survey by the Louis Harris firm, those reporting a great deal of confidence in higher education declined from 61 percent in a 1966 sample to 36 percent in a 1980 sample. The number of people reporting a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in public schools as a whole dropped from 60 percent in 1973 to 40 percent in 1981, while the number of those showing very little or no confidence in public schools rose from 11 percent in 1973 to 25 percent in