TalkShow Exposure as an Opinion Activity

Talk Radio Listening, Opinion Expression and Political Discussion in a Democratizing Society

“…They also pay more attention to the news media and are more likely to participate in politics (e.g. Barker, 1998b;Hollander, 1996Hollander, , 1997Pan & Kosicki, 1997). On the whole, talk radio listeners are found to be active participants in public life, while listening to talk radio may reinforce their propensity to participate.…”

“…On the whole, talk radio listeners are found to be active participants in public life, while listening to talk radio may reinforce their propensity to participate. Pan and Kosicki (1997) thus conceptualize talk radio listening as an opinion activity. Exposure to radio talk shows, for Pan and Kosicki, is 'tantamount to participating in the collective process of constructing public discourse' (p. 374).…”

“…It provides 'an electronic public space' with the potential to contribute to public deliberation in its own way (Herbst, 1995;Livingstone & Lunt, 1994). Therefore, it is important to study talk radio as a 'democratic forum' and talk radio listening as an 'opinion activity' (Pan & Kosicki, 1997).…”

The perception of community radio as public sphere and its potential impact on political action: lessons from Tanzania

“…For mass media use (in line with Pan & Kosicki's (1997) approach), the exposure items examined were measured on a four-point scale: (1=never, 2=hardly ever; 3=sometimes, 4=regularly, as an additive index (Cronbach's alpha = .75). Activities included are: read a daily newspaper, read a magazine, watch television news (local and national), listen to radio news (local and national).…”

“…For the measure of engagement with community radio, respondents were asked to rank their levels of involvement with their community station on a four-point scale (1= not involved, 2=slightly involved 3=moderately involved, and 4=very involved). Following Pan and Kosicki (1997), the measure of exposure to political talk radio was differentiated from other media use, because talk radio is construed as a type of opinion activity and not a mere media exposure (Crittenden, 1971). To measure this exposure, respondents were asked: "How often, if ever, do you listen to radio shows that invite listeners to call-in or send a text message to discuss current events, public issues, and politics: 1=never, 2=very rarely, 3=rarely, 4=occasionally, 5=very frequently, 6=always?"…”