News use and political socialization among young Jordanians

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between young Jordanians' ( N = 321) news use and their feelings toward the Jordanian and US 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. Political socialization measures were indices of political trust and appraisals of the US government. Results suggest that young Jordanians in the sample rely mostly on TV news, newspapers and interpersonal contacts for current events information, and that TV news use and reliance on interpersonal sources were associated with negative views of the US government.