Effects of Political News Consumption and Discussion on Political Behavior During Election Campaign 2013 Pakistan

Abstract

Democratic theorists believe that news media could and should communicate information that is essential in a democracy. News media function as a primary source of information about politics. People rely heavily on political news to understand the political world, acquiring political information and inspecting the performance of governments. Prior results of the studies show that political news consumption effects Political discussion, political perceptions, political participation and evaluation of political process. This study examines the effects of political news consumption and political deliberation on the political behaviour of a key group of voters during an election campaign in Pakistan. It explores the process by which political news consumption affects political behaviour. The research found evidence that the effects of mass media on the political behaviour are less as compared to the interpersonal communication. A Cross sectional survey was used to collect data of a key group of voters in Lahore. Sample of the voters was taken employing multistage purposive sampling technique. Data analysis was done using multiple regression analysis to gauge the variance shared by the political news and political deliberation in sharing political behaviour. Results of the study provide an exploratory understanding of relationship between News Media use, political deliberation, and Political Behaviour. It demonstrates an innovative strategy to assess the implications of Political News for Political Behaviour in society.