HOW MEDIA USE AND RELIANCE AFFECT KNOWLEDGE LEVEL
Results of studies of the relation between media consumption and political knowledge are mixed. This study looked at three media consumption variables—reliance, media use, and focused media use—and their relation to knowledge of issues in a state tax referendum. Focused media use was defined as reading or viewing of news about state and local politics. Reliance on TV news correlated negatively with knowledge of issues. Reliance on newspapers did not correlate at all. Focused TV news use correlated more highly with knowledge of issues than did general TV news use. For newspapers, both focused and general use had strong correlations with knowledge measures.
This is the second in a series of working ::: papers published by the Higher Education ::: Academy to disseminate information about ::: the project entitled 'What is learned at ::: university: the social and organisational ::: mediation of university learning' (SOMUL). ::: This second working paper focuses on the ::: organisational mediation of learning, i.e. how ::: institutional characteristics shape the ::: student experience and resultant learning ::: outcomes within an increasingly diverse ::: higher education system.