Television reliance and political malaise: A contingency analysis

The relationship of media reliance with political powerlessness and political cynicism was elaborated in terms of three measures of political involvement-sense of citizen duty, campaign interest, and importance of political advertising. Data were collected and analyzed from a RDD sample of 459 Seattle voters. The results suggest that Robinson's videomalaise hypothesis is subject to a number of contingencies that limit its generality, including the possibility that newspaper reliance may actually contribute to reduced political malaise.