Knowledge or Trust?

Abstract

Participation as a key component of democracy has been the focus of considerable research, with the body of scholarship focusing overwhelmingly on voting. However, because political interests and opinions can be conveyed and expressed outside the voting booth, this study examines political activity in a nonelectoral context, specifically, World Trade Organization (WTO) policies and issues as well as the WTO ministerial meeting held in Seattle, Washington, in the fall of 1999. Within this context, this study explores the process of media effects on participation, focusing on knowledge and trust in the organization as intervening variables between attention to WTO news and anticipated behaviors related to the WTO. Survey data collected from 277 adults from the greater Seattle area prior to the WTO meeting were used to test seven hypotheses and address two research questions. Results indicate that newspaper and television reliance had differential effects on knowledge about the WTO and trust in the institution. Moreover, the effects of trust on political behavior were considerably stronger than those of knowledge.