This study tested hypothesized associations between local news viewing motives and attention to government reports or to sports reports. In addition, the personality trait of need for cognition was tested as an antecedent to local news viewing motivation and attention. Local news viewers (N = 305) completed questionnaires. LISREL analysis identified significant connections between need for cognition, utilitarian local news viewing motives, and attention to government news reports. Attention to sports news was explained only by respondent sex. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for uses and gratifications research and media effects studies.
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