Understanding Local News Consumption and Community Participation via the Lens of Information Repertoires and Media Multiplexity

Abstract

This study applies and extends the frameworks of information repertoires and media multiplexity to examine how the use of local information repertoires affects multimodal community participation, which is in turn reflected in community integration. A path analysis was conducted on the data gathered by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The results showed that four variables—habits of information seeking, diverse community interests, access to technology, and local information repertoires—were associated with each other. In addition, together they predicted community participation through multiple media use and the media gratifications obtained, which in turn positively influenced the level of local ties, community satisfaction, and community efficacy. Implications of the findings for theoretical and societal contributions and directions for future research are discussed.

Notes

¹The measures of diversity of community interests, access to technology, size of information repertoire use, and multimodal community participation are formative measures (to indicate different facets of these constructs) and we used indices that accumulated scores. Thus, we did not report the value of Cronbach's alpha associated with these variables (Petter, Straub, & Rai, 2007).

²The path model with the size of local information repertoires as the exogenous variable was not an acceptable model. The chi-square value was 503.80 (df = 50, p < .001), which indicated a less than adequate fit between the overall model and the observed data. Except for goodness of fit index (GFI; .90), comparative fit index (CFI; .56), adjusted GFI (AGFI; .82), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA; .11) did not meet the common values. The results of the significance tests of individual parameters were similar to the model with frequent use of local information repertoires as the exogenous variable. The only difference was that the scope of local information repertoires did not significantly predict media gratifications (B = .01, SE = .01, p > .10). The final model with the size of local information repertories indicated a good fit. The chi-square value for the revised model dropped to 146.98 (df = 46, p < .001), with GFI (.97), CFI (.90), AGFI (.94), and RMSEA (.05). Because of length limitation, only the model results with frequent use of local information repertoires are reported in the article. Please contact the authors for this part of analysis and results.

³To ensure consistency of the magnitude and significance of the estimated parameters, we used maximum likelihood estimation (available in Amos) and mean replacement to retest the full model on the original sample of 2,251. The results of hypothesis testing and indirect effects were similar to the model run with the reduced sample of 760. The only exception was that the relationship between media gratifications and multimodal community participation became marginally significant with a small amount of coefficient change (analysis with maximum likelihood estimation: B = −0.06; M replacement: B = −0.04). These results might be ascribed to the large sample size of the original data set.

⁴Two equivalent models were performed to assess the adequacy of the final model reported in Figure 3. In the first alternative model, community efficacy and local ties were used to predict multimodal community participation, and community satisfaction would predict media gratification utility. In other words, variables of media use became the endogenous variables that were accounted for by one's behaviors and perceptions of being integrated into the community. The chi-square value for this first alternative model increased to 159.93 (df = 46, p < .001). Although GFI (.97) and AGFI (.94) met the common standard, RMSEA (.06) and CFI (.89) suggested only a moderate model fit. In the second model, in addition to the aforementioned reversed relationships, the direct effects were replaced with unanalyzed associations between local ties, community satisfaction, and community efficacy. The chi-square value increased to 162.10 (df = 46, p < .001). Showing very similar results as the first alternative model, whereas GFI (.97) and AGFI (.94) met the common standard, RMSEA (.06) and CFI (.89) only suggested a moderate model fit. Despite the moderate differences of the model fit between the equivalent models and the final model presented in Figure 3, these results demonstrate the theoretical choice supporting the final model. That is, following the frameworks of information repertoires and media multiplexity, the tendency of using multiple information sources and multiple means of communication with the community represents the afforded opportunity that serves to facilitate the change of community behaviors and attitudes.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chih-Hui Lai

Chih-Hui Lai (Ph.D., Rutgers University, 2012) is an assistant professor in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University. Her research focuses on how individuals, groups, and organizations use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to communicate and how relationships evolve or emerge through the process.

Tang Tang

Tang Tang (Ph.D., Ohio University, 2008) is an associate professor in the School of Communication at University of Akron. Her research interests include audience research and the impact of new communication technologies.