Talk Radio and Evaluations of President Clinton

Abstract

President Clinton has alleged that talk radio has had a negative effect on the public's perceptions of government, its leaders, and its policies. This article addresses the question of whether talk radio use is linked to evaluations of President Clinton. Using data from the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press, the study finds that talk radio use corresponds to negative evaluations of Clinton's personal qualities and job performance, as well as to perceptions that he is a liberal. However, when controls for demographic characteristics and prior political orientations are introduced into a multivariate model, the media effects are mitigated. The listening public generally is negatively predisposed toward President Clinton. Therefore, talk radio works to reinforce, and perhaps to enhance, anti-Clinton proclivities.