Across the Page and Down the Dial: Media Usage and Evaluations of the Christian Coalition

Objective. Very little research has probed the relationship between media consumption and perceptions of interest groups. This paper establishes a link between media (particularly talk radio listening and newspaper reading) usage and how people view the Christian Coalition. Methods. 1996 American National Election Study data are analyzed with multivariate regression. Results. There is a significant relationship between media consumption and perceptions of the Coalition even when various factors (ideology, party identification, religious beliefs, political knowledge, socioeconomic status, race, and region) are controlled. The relationship is more powerful when the sample includes only potential joiners of the Christian Coalition. Conclusions. While media consumption may not be the most powerful predictor of how people feel toward interest groups, its importance may be to provide information to potential joiners. This information could determine the fate of marginal membership-based groups.