Evaluates the 1976 presidential debates as an innovation in political communication formats that might overcome existing gaps in electoral participation between the more and less active sectors of society. Examines the equivalence of effects of debate-watching and related behaviors for different levels of age, education, and politial interest.…

Examines predictive patterns of traditional and nontraditional media forms on people's campaign interest and participation, information processing strategies, knowledge of candidates' positions, perceived votes for candidates, and issue salience. Finds nontraditional media had greatest impact on labile characteristics and weakest impact on…

A study was conducted during the 1980 presidential campaign to answer three questions about the nature of public opinion: (1) What is the effect of customary patterns of mass media use and interpersonal communication on perceptions of public opinion about election campaigns? (2) What effect does the magnitude of discrepancy between a person's own…

The paper investigates whether the 1976 presidential debates contributed to political participation among all sectors of American society. Evidence was obtained from 353 eligible voters in Madison, Wisconsin, before and after the debates. Effects were evaluated by taking correlations between the level of respondents' exposure to the debates and…