Political talk radio and public opinion

This article examines the relationship between listening to political talk radio (Rush Limbaugh in particular) and attitudes toward public figures, groups, and policies. We employ a variety of methods to combat the selection bias inherent in such relationships. We find that listening to Limbaugh is independently associated with attitudes toward issues that Limbaugh emphasizes but shows no independent covariance with attitudes toward salient issues that Limbaugh neglects. Moreover, Limbaugh listening independently corresponds to greater negativity toward Ross Perot, a figure for whom affect cannot be accurately predicted from individual party identification or ideology. Finally, regular listening to Limbaugh predicts substantial change in attitudes from 1994 to 1996, but the effects are substantially muted when the Limbaugh message is positive rather than negative.