ABSTRACT
News about politics and government deals with a reality that is quite remote from the day-to-day world of the typical American child. Yet the opportunity to assimilate political symbols and labels is presented daily: the face of the president, the names of the parties, and the issue catch phrases can only be evaded with difficulty in the media environment of today’s growing child. By preadolescence or adolescence, most youngsters have sufficient experience with political information for it to play a significant role in their cognitive orientations. Recent reviews (Chaffee, 1978; Kraus & Davis, 1976) have suggested the important role mass media play as agents of political socialization. As communication researchers it is equally important for us to specify the process by which young people learn to use the news media.
