Political Talk Radio and Values: Finding Support for the Two-Value Political Ideology Model

This study found support for the Schwartz (1994) Schwartz, S. H. 1994. Are there universal aspects in the structure and contents of human values?. Journal of Social Issues, 50(4): 19–46. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] two-value political ideology model in relation to political talk radio (PTR) program choice. People who listened to liberal PTR hosts were found to be associated with “universalism.” People who listened to conservative PTR hosts were found to be associated with “security.” Additional values were also found to be associated with listening to liberal and conservative PTR hosts. In addition, discriminant analysis was used to develop a model which could predict PTR listening based on audience values. These findings add to the understanding of the uses and gratifications of listening to political talk radio.