The media environment is changing. Today in the United States, the average viewer can choose from hundreds of channels, including several twenty-four hour news channels. News is on cell phones, on iPods, and online; it has become a ubiquitous and unavoidable reality in modern society. The purpose of this 2007 book is to examine systematically, how these differences in access and form of media affect political behaviour. Using experiments and survey data, it shows how changes in the media environment reverberate through the political system, affecting news exposure, political learning, turnout, and voting behaviour.

'… a generally convincing and thought provoking explantory account of the political repercussions wrought by changes in the media environment in the last 70 years … the book is essential reading for political scientists interested in individual political behaviour and the broader implications for democratic competition.'

Source: Journal of Politics