Reading, Writing and Political Competence
Reading, Writing and Political Competence

Summary/Abstract: In the present paper we analyze the relation between political competence and media exposure. Taking into account the dynamic transition of media environment related to growing impact of the internet (web 2.0) we made several assumptions about the influence of traditional and new media on political sophistication. We hypothesize that the impact of the media on political competence is related to qualitative, rather than quantitative factors; competence rises with the way a media consumer interacts with the medium, rather than on the amount of time spent with the medium. The empirical analysis based on a mass public opinion survey confirms our assumptions: there is a positive relationship between media exposure and political competence, however various kind of media differ as far as their influence is concerned. Moreover the use of interactive internet features (participation in information exchange) is a key factor shaping competence.

• Details
• Contents