| This study examined the associations between young urban Jordanians' (N=321) news consumption patterns and their feelings toward the Jordanian and U.S. governments. Consumption of traditional news delivery formats (such as print newspapers, radio broadcasts, and interpersonal sources) was measured, as was reliance on new media formats such as blogs, text messaging, and podcasting. Young Jordanians' assessments of the Jordanian and U.S. governments were operationalized as indices of political cynicism, political trust, and ratings of the U.S. government. News consumption variables were regressed on the political attitude scales, with media credibility included as a control variable. Young Jordanians in the sample rely mostly on TV news, newspapers, and interpersonal contacts for current events information. Just two of the news consumption variables, TV news use and reliance on interpersonal sources, were associated with political attitudes measured in the study; these variables negatively predicted feelings toward the U.S. government. |
