Credibility or Convenience? Political Information Choices in a Media-Saturated Environment

Abstract

This article considers how a range of personal characteristics (media scepticism, political interest, need for cognition and media gratifications) influence the political information choices of Australians. Data collection was conducted in Brisbane via a postal survey during March and April 2008. The data revealed that the characteristics associated with information quality have very little influence on media use patterns, indicating that use of the media appears to occur simply as a consequence of other everyday life practices, rather than as an information-seeking activity. People regularly use media they do not trust to find out about politics, calling into question the previously assumed centrality of trust to information choices. If convenience trumps credibility in information selection, the importance of media literacy is heightened. The findings also emphasise the need for more holistic contexts for media research, which consider the broader social contexts and practices in which media-oriented behaviours occur.

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