Length of residence and media usage

This article uses data from the 2002 National Election Survey to investigate the relationship between length of residence and media use to consider whether recent movers might use the media as a source of information about their new communities. Results show that frequency of watching national news, watching local news, and reading a newspaper increases with length of residence. Additionally, respondents' community involvement and sociodemographic characteristics influence these relationships. Older individuals who have more community interest and live in a place longer make greater use of available media. Better-educated individuals also read the paper more, but watch local news less. Thus, it seems, residentially mobile individuals tend not to use the media for information to aid their adjustment.