Home Media Research Articles

Local Sources of Information and Voter Choice in State Elections

Previous studies of aggregated election returns have identified a local component to the vote in state election contests. The authors suggest that a geographical distribution of information about candidates produces these aggregate patterns and demonstrate that the farther a voter resides from a candidate's home media market, the less likely it is that the voter knows about the candidate. Furthermore, uncertainty associated with distance reduces the likelihood that a voter will select a candidate. This effect holds in partisan and nonpartisan (primary) contests. The findings call attention to the need for additional study of vehicles that transmit information at the local level.

Adolescents, VCRs, and the Family Environment

With the rapid diffusion of the VCR into the home media environment, a central question is whether the special features of the VCR lead to transformations in the family, or whether preexisting family relationships and media orientations determine the uses of the VCR and its role in the family. This study, using cross-sectional and longitudinal data from adolescents, suggests that VCRs mainly augment and extend family television patterns and that VCR use may be both a cause and a symptom of family conflicts.