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International Journal of Public Opinion Research 2008 20(3):347-362; doi:10.1093/ijpor/edn032
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The World Association for Public Opinion Research. All rights reserved.

News Media Use and Knowledge about the 2006 U.S. Midterm Elections: Why Exposure Matters in Voter Learning

Ran Wei and Ven-hwei Lo

Address correspondence to Ran Wei, School of Journalism & Mass Communications, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA, E-mail: ran.wei{at}sc.edu

Examining voter learning in the 2006 US midterm elections, this study explores the relationships among motivation, media exposure, attention, elaboration, and knowledge gain in an expanded cognitive mediation model. The model characterizes voter learning from the news as a process driven by motivation, necessitated by exposure, and enhanced by attention and elaboration. With data collected from a sample of 455 respondents, the study tested the proposed model. Media exposure was found to have direct and indirect effects on attention, elaboration, and knowledge about the elections. The model was basically supported. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.

Received for publication April 18, 2007. Accepted for publication April 21, 2008.


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