Telematics and Informatics 15 (1998) 203217

Mediated political communication, the Internet, and the new knowledge elites: prospects and portents1
W. Timothy Coombs *, Craig W. Cutbirth
Department of Communication, Campus Box 4480, 465 Fell Hall, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4480, USA

Abstract This paper argues that the phenomenal growth of the Internet requires a re-thinking of our assumptions about both the nature of political communication and the role of elites in the political process. We suggest that the Internet functions in a paradoxical manner. On the one hand, the Internet provides important opportunities for interactions between candidates and voters as well as new arenas for voter-to-voter discussion and interaction. On the other hand, the volume of political information available on the Internet, as well as the continued growth of other forms of mediated political communications, suggest that voters may be overwhelmed by the quantity and dubious quality of information on political candidates and issues. A likely outcome of this situation is the emergence of a new form of ``information elite,'' which challenges the traditional view that elites reect considerations of power and wealth. We suggest that this elite can have a strong positive eect on democratic processes. We utilize Petty and Cacioppo's Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion as a guide to understanding political communication and voter decision making in contemporary society and the role of the new information elite therein [Petty, R.E., Cacioppo, J.T., 1986. The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In: Berkowitz, L., (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 19. Academic Press, New York, pp. 123205]. # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Traditionally, the terms ``elite'' and ``elitism'' have, with some justication, been regarded as pejorative. Elites are typically dened by their ability to control resources.
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-309-438-7746; fax: +1-309-438-3048; e-mail: wtcoomb@ilstu.edu 1 A paper presented to the International Conference on Media and Politics, Brussels, Belgium, 27 February1 March 1997. 0736-5853/98/$see front matter # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved PII: S073 6-5853(98)0001 3-6

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The prevailing view is that control of these assets oers elites the relatively unfettered ability to pursue their own interests, which are frequently at odds with those of the population at large. Historically, elites have controlled money and have used their nancial resources to gain access to and control of the major political, social, commercial, and cultural institutions of society. More recently elites have been seen as commanding the leading players of the contemporary ``information society''the mass media. Elites are not without their critics, particularly in the realm of academe and, increasingly, in more popular arenas as well. William A. Henry III's (1994) observation in his controversial book ``that the term `elitist'F F F has come to rival if not outstrip `racist' as the foremost catchall pejorative of our times'' (p. 2) resonates positively in our personal experience. At the same time, however, we feel a sense of misgiving over the increasingly cavalier use of the term. While there can be no question that people who possess power and privilege are motivated to exercise and maintain it, it is no less correct that labelling an idea as elite or elitist too frequently becomes a means of dismissing the concept without subjecting it to rigorous examination and analysis. When this occurs the critics of elitism, trapped in and by their own ideological lexicon, function in an elitist manner by discounting alternative points of view without a fair hearing. All too often this is done to promote the self-interests of the critics rather than those of society at large. Our purpose in this paper, however, is not to engage in dialectic with either attackers or defenders of elitism. Our larger interest is in the American political process, most notably the structures and forms of public communication which constitute, implement, and alter political campaign practices in the United States. Like most students of contemporary American politics we direct our attention primarily, although not exclusively, at presidential campaigning. In this paper we are specically concerned with the latest innovation in the ongoing telecommunications revolution of the twentieth centurythe Internet. One important result of this revolution is a signicant alteration in the political process. Grossman's (1995) intriguing view of the new ``electronic republic'' insightfully argues that while ``most studies of government, politics, and the media start at the top by examining the qualities of leadership that dene political life,'' in the future ``the qualities of citizenship will be at least as important as those of political leadership. In an electronic republic, it will be essential to look at politics from the bottom up as well as from the top down'' (p. 7). This is precisely how we propose to look at politics in this paper. We contend specically that the Internet, in combination with other communication innovations which allow people to share their concerns with one another and their elected representatives, oers the potential of a new type of elite, which we here term a ``knowledge elite.'' We will present our view by discussing several ideas. First, we explain the mediated nature of contemporary political campaigning and the availability of information for use by voters. Second, we note a compelling theory regarding the means of information processing available to receivers of mediated political communication. Third, we suggest the existence of a new ``knowledge elite'' which stands in contrast to the more traditional media elites. Fourth, we assess the role of the Internet in this

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equation, noting both its dramatic growth and its potential in nurturing the new ``knowledge elite.'' We nally explore the future implications of the Internet for political communication, elites, and the educational institutions in both the United States and the world. 2. Contemporary political campaigning and voter information Analysis of media coverage of candidates and campaigns is increasingly diverse and rapidly expanding. Our specic interest, however, is in media presentation of candidates and their stands on issues. Most of the research here examines television news and candidate advertisements. Both popular and scholarly sentiment in this area is largely negative. This dissatisfaction is grounded in the belief that receivers are not given sucient information by the media. It is important to note that the deciency is not limited solely to the content of the information presented in the news and on advertisements, but often focuses on the limited time frame of commercials and news coverage. At present, political campaign communication in the United States is dominated by what are termed ``sound bites''short segments of lengthier communication events. Creators of political discourse place dramatic sound bites into their messages in anticipation of their selection by the news media. Since the electorate is presumed to receive most of its candidate and issue- relevant information from television, eective sound bites carried by the news media are vital to campaign success. Predictably, critics of political campaign communication practices decry this practice (Popkin, 1991; Hallin, 1992; Lowry and Shidler, 1995). Conventional wisdom holds that the typical American voter, captive to the meager oerings of the media, is largely uninformed about candidates and issues. We are skeptical of this view. It is distressing to encounter researchers who observe that the public receives most of its information about candidates and issues from television and then equate ``television'' with ``television news'' (Lowry and Shidler, 1995). This approach ignores the wealth of political information available to a motivated public in talk shows and dedicated political programming which does not rely on sound bites. An assessment of the news as a major source of political information was recently oered by a respected media critic of the Washington Post: ``Everywhere they turn, network news executives see rivals sprouting like wildowers. With real-time information available on C-SPAN, local TV, talk radio, fax machines, and computer screens, the evening newscasts suddenly seem like old jalopies'' (Kurtz, 1996, p. 20). In the last decade the number of alternative sources of information has become so widespread that ``Rush Limbaugh built a bigger audience than [Peter] Jennings. Millions got their `news' from Oprah, or Inside Edition, or The McLaughlin Group, or America Online''(Kurtz, 1996, p. 23). The traditional view of television news as an inadequate source of information regarding political aairs is representative of the ``old'' way of looking at politics from the ``top down'' noted earlier by Grossman (1995). Consistent with his view that we must also pay signicant attention to what happens ``at the bottom,'' we

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here simply note the error of examining only network news coverage of political events and suggest that we must also pay attention to what people do with the information presented to them. 3. Routes of information processing In 1986 Petty and Cacioppo proposed the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion. Their model has proven heuristic and currently ranks as one of the more popular approaches to persuasion. The keynote assumption of ELM is that people do not cognitively process information in the same manner, but can be separated according to the degree to which they think about, or elaborate on, the material they receive. This elaboration, which is also referred to as issue-relevant thinking, leads to two routes of information processing. The central route involves focused, critical thinking about the information. When using the central route of processing the receiver actively elaborates on information by assessing the quality of the arguments supporting conclusions and comparing the information with other relevant data about the subject. Perlo (1993) comments that: Under this route, individuals engage in a great deal of thinking about the message, and they ultimately incorporate these thoughts into their attitudinal schema. This is the thinking person's route to persuasion inasmuch as messages that trigger central processing require the person to do a great deal of cognitive work (p. 119). When using the peripheral route, on the other hand, the receiver is less active and, rather than elaborating on the information presented, looks for cues which require little thinking. Perlo (1993) explains that: peripheral processing is characterized by an association of the advocated position with positive values or pleasant images. The person accepts the advocated position because the images evoke pleasant memories. Peripheral processing is also typied by the use of simple decision rules, also called heuristics or scripts, such as ``the expert is to be believed,'' ``men are usually right on political issues,'' or ``the message that has a lot of arguments is invariably correct'' (p. 119). The application of ELM to the political context is obvious. Members of the electorate no less than any other audience choose either the central route or the peripheral route in evaluating the information they receive on candidates and issues. The key to the choice, as identied by Petty and Cacioppo (1986), is whether the audience has the ability and the motivation to process information via the central route. Ability and motivation, can thus be seen as initial dening characteristics of what we term the new ``knowledge elite,'' which can be contrasted with the traditional ``media elite.''

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4. Knowledge and media elites in American politics In our view there are at least three inter-related elites relevant to the American political system: political elites, represented by individuals who, formally or informally, occupy positions of political authority in society; economic elites, represented by individuals who wield notable commercial and economic power in society; and media elites, represented by individuals who select, organize, shape, and present information to society. Of these three elites, the media elite seems most important. Support for this claim is found in (1) the power of the media and (2) the mechanisms used by the political and economic elites to inuence media content. Here the term media is used to refer to news stories which appear in the mass media. This conceptualization is consistent with other research in this area (e.g. Entman, 1989). In the US, control over political language, the words used to describe political events, is power. Political events have no intrinsic meaning, rather their meaning is derived from the language used to describe them. In essence, political reality is political languagethe interpretations assigned to the political events (Edelman, 1988). Political language is used to achieve the two primary goals of politics: (1) quiescence and (2) arousal (Edelman, 1985). One way to achieve political objectives is to have people do nothingquiescence. A group can succeed if most people are convinced to do nothing to oppose it. Political language used to reassure people promotes quiescence by creating satised or uninterested publics. Another way to achieve political objectives is to arouse people so that they are moved to action. Public opinion and active support (grassroots lobbying) can help to win a political battle. The political language used to demonstrate the existence of some threat promotes arousal of publics (Edelman, 1985). The mass media assumes a central role in this battle over political language (Bennett, 1988; Ansolabehere et al., 1993; Lagon, 1996). Politicians use political language in eorts to shape how the mass media reports/interprets political events. Bennett (1988) noted that ``the [F]ailure to control the news is often equated with political failure (p. 73). The power to control the news media provides the ability to control the issues on the political agenda and how those issues are interpretedthe political language used to describe the event (Bennett, 1988; Ansolabehere et al., 1993). News stories can help to advance or to undermine a policy proposal. Unfavorable stories turn publics against policies while favorable stories build support (Entman, 1989). The mass media is thus an important mechanism for building quiescence or arousal. The political language used in the news stories can reassure or threaten people. Because of this power, a primary goal of political elites when dealing with the mass media is to manage publicityshape the political language used to frame policy-related stories (Entman, 1989; Von Beyme, 1996). Political elites attempt to use the media through their ability to place specic material in the news media (Smith, 1996). The political elites are not the only active users of public media, the economic elites are involved as well (Gandy, 1992). Both elites are very successful. According to the propaganda model, a series of lters exist which allow elite perspectives to dominate the news media (Herman and Chomsky, 1988). The vast majority of stories

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in the news media have either political or economic/business elites as their sources (Bennett, 1988; Ryan, 1991). These elites become an information subsidy for the news media by providing information at very low costs, which reduces the expense of news gathering (Gandy, 1992). Of the two elites, the political elites are the most frequently used information subsidy (Bennett, 1988). By dominating the news media, the elites dominate the discussion of public issues. Controlling what stories are presented and, more importantly, the political language used in the stories has a powerful eect on the policy process. The news stories provide the context for the discussion and resolution of public issues. The stories provide the issues, options, and climate of relevant opinion that people receive (Gandy, 1992). When political gures inuence news stories, they shape how people experience and ultimately how they choose to resolve public policy issues. Decisions are inuenced by structuring the information people use to make decisions. Public relations is a resource used to inuence public debate and corporate and government bureaucracies are the primary clients and beneciaries (Bennett, 1988, p. 135). The political and economic elites in the US spend billions each year on their public relations machines (Wilcox et al., 1995). The political and economic elites recognize the power of the mass media and attempt to tap into that power. Hence, the media are the most important of the three elites. We have noted, however, the emergence of a new elite, which we term a ``knowledge elite.'' Members of this elite fulll Petty and Cacioppo's (1986) requirements of possessing the ability and motivation to actively process political information. This elite is not entirely new, for there have always been informed, critical observers of politics. However, recent developments in telecommunication, particularly the Internet, oer such new possibilities for independent thought and decision-making that we feel justied in terming this a ``new'' elite. Before discussing the Internet, let us briey describe the characteristics of this new knowledge elite. We suggest at the outset that the new knowledge elite can negate the media's control over information and to present information as they see it (Fund, 1995; Hume, 1995). The media elite draw their power from the ability to access a wide array of information and to control the information people/the masses receive (Fund, 1995; Hume, 1995). As gatekeepers, the media elite control what information people receive and what information they do not receive. The two basic resources used to create the news are the news wires and press releases. The media have greater access to information than the average person. Each day the media decide what small percentage of the news wire stories will appear in the major organs of mass communication. By default, this is also a decision about which news wire stories the public will not see. Moreover, the media make the same decisions about which of the myriad of press releases sent to the media by organizations or individuals will become news and which will not (Shoemaker, 1991). When presenting stories, the media also presents a frame for the storywhich indicates how people should interpret the information in the story (Iyengar, 1989, 1990). The media not only control access to information but how that information is presented and interpreted. Of course, people may reject the media interpretations but many accept the media frames (Hume, 1995; Iyengar, 1989, 1990).

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Through the Internet and multiple stations, knowledge elites can access information the media may fail to report. On the Internet, knowledge elites can receive news wire feeds, read press releases, view documents on Web pages, and read messages posted to newsgroups. There is an almost unlimited amount of information rather than just the few column inches in the newspaper or minutes on the television news. However, not all of this information is good or accurate. We will address this concern later in the paper. The multiple channels open the media beyond traditional news holes with 24 h news and provide average people a voice through talk radio (Hume, 1995). But access alone is not enough to elevate someone to elite status. The knowledge elite must be able to digest and to re-present the information to people. Re-presenting refers to oering a personal interpretation of the information. There are a number of re-presenting options for the knowledge elite. On the Internet, re-presenting can take the form of Web pages or newsgroup postings, which will be described in detail later in the paper. On other communication channels, re-presenting can take the form of a cable access show or participating in a talk show. Most local cable companies provide opportunities for people to do their own cable television show at either low or no cost. Many people in the US know of this option through the Wayne's World lms. Local cable access shows allow people to re- present their message to an audience, albeit a limited audience. The other option is to participate in call-in talk shows. An individual can oer an uncensored re-presentation of his/her message on such shows. As with newsgroups, the message is eetingit has a very short life span in the public sphere. 5. The internet and the knowledge elite The most recent presidential election amply demonstrates that the nature of political communication in the United States has changed signicantly due to the Internet. Certainly, not all people are equipped to utilize this resource, but the number connected to the Internet is growing rapidly. In the US, 13.9% of all homes have some type of Internet access while 11% of all homes use the Internet at least once a month (Reuters, 1996). The growth rate is incredible. At current levels of expansion the number of US citizens on the Internet doubles every year and the number of Web sites doubles every 53 days. Because the Internet is a currently-evolving phenomenon it is dicult to oer an authoritative perspective on its growth and potential for the future. Nonetheless, the already demonstrated importance of the Internet requires that the attempt be made. It seems reasonable to us to assert that the impact of the Internet on politics and political communication will parallel that of television. Theodore H. White (1982) chronicles the growth of television from the 1950s to the 1980s. In 1950, only 4.4 million American homes boasted television sets. The next 10 years saw an explosion: During some weeks in that decade, no less than 10,000 people every day (original emphasis) were buying their rst television sets. By 1960,

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45 million homes in America had television and television was ready to set the stage of modern politics. By 1980, 80 million homes owned television setsas close to saturation as statistically possible (p. 165). As computer ownership and use grows to signicant, even saturation levels in American society, and as both politicians and the electorate increase their use of computerized communication channels, it seems clear that the Internet has the potential to have the most signicant eect on politics and political communication since television. Grossman (1995) oers a view of the future which seems very near at hand assuming the continued growth in Internet access. He foresees ``a continuing ow of audio, video, and written communications, dialogue exchanges, yes/no votes and polls, position papers and programs, interviews, speeches, presentations, and advertisementsall rattling around in cyberspace and all instantly available on command'' (p. 149). While it may be debatable whether this is a benecial state of aairs (Koppel, 1994; McChesney, 1996), it is quite clear that the existing cyberrevolution has already changed and will continue to change political communication practices. There is good reason to conclude that the Internet has already had a dramatic eect on US politics. Columnist David Broder (Libertarians zip, 1996) notes the Libertarian Party's use of the Internet to build support for its candidates. Mitchell Locin (Koppel's snit, 1996, p. A-4) observes that ``This year for the rst time, the conventions are covered through digital communications. On-line computer services and the Internet supply the ocial line from party and candidate Web sites, and news media sites add to the information mix.'' Viewers of the debates between candidates Clinton and Dole will recall challenger Dole's inaccurate attempt to inform the audience of the address of his site on the World Wide Web. The Internet oers a variety of opportunities for interested voters. All serious political parties maintain home pages, as do their individual candidates. Voters are thus not limited to network news coverage of the ``major'' parties and candidates. There are several sites devoted entirely to politics and campaigns. These Internet sites make it possible to read transcripts of debates or convention speeches, view videos or listen to audio recordings of major campaign events, and track candidates positions on important issues. Major newspapers oer on-line editions in which computer-literate voters can read opinions and coverage of the campaign. Further, subscribers can participate in a variety of political ``talk groups'' and discuss the issues of interest to them. The Internet can thus help motivated people become part of the knowledge elite. The services discussed above mean that users of the Internet can (1) access information, (2) present their interpretation of information, and (3) mobilize support for their positions. Because the Internet oers a wide variety of news that is not packaged by the media elite (Hume, 1995), in eect, it stands as a rival information network to the media elites that people can use to access information. Remember, not all of this information is useful or even accurate. However, there is a substantial quantity of quality information on the Internet. Five sources of information stand out: (1) news wires, (2) press releases, (3) Web sites, (4) newsgroups, and (5) multiple media sources.

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One way the media elite gatekeep information is by deciding what information presented by the news wires becomes news storieswhat information from the newswire people are to have. The Internet provides direct access to a number of news wires. In the US, the primary news wires are Reuters and AP, both of which can be accessed from the Internet. A second way the media gatekeep information is by deciding which press releases become news stories. The Internet provides direct access to wide range of press releases. The PR Newswire, for example, is a major distributor of press releases. Anyone on the Internet can access their press releases. Most companies, and even non-prot organizations such as Greenpeace, provide a press release archive on their Web sites. Hence, people can obtain uncensored newswire and press release information from the Internet thereby circumventing the media elite s gatekeeping. Web sites are like libraries. Each Web site has a home page which is the rst page on the Web site and serves as the table of contents (Wolpin, 1995). The proprietor of the Web site, or Web master, can place a large amount of information on the Web site. Depending on the capacity of the system, a Web site can contain thousands of pages of information including, graphics. A Web site typically has hypertext links to other Web sites. Hypertext links are a dierent color from the other text on the Web site and when clicked on with a mouse button takes a person directly to that other Web site. The capacity to link Web sites is the reason for this system being called a Web. Thus, a typical Web site is a mix of original information and links to related data. The TimorNet exemplies this capacity. This Web site has an original bibliography and links to other Internet resources about East Timor. Each home page has an address for the Web site which visitors enter into their Web navigator program to go directly to that Web site. Web navigators, also called browsers, are software programs which let people move through the Web (Wolpin, 1995). People can gather an immense array of uncensored information by visiting Web sites. Newsgroups provide another source of information not censored by elites. Sometimes called bulletin boards, newsgroups are locations in cyberspace where people discuss specic subjects. Virtually any subject can be found since the Internet has over 5000 newsgroups (Fund, 1995). The discussion is actually a posting of e-mail messages. The postings are available for public view and comment since people are encouraged to respond to a posted message. A series of messages created from one posting is known as a thread. These postings are available to the public anywhere from a few days to over a year depending on the capacity of the system (Wolpin, 1995). Finally, there are a variety of elite and alternative media on the Internet. People can collect and compare the information provided by a variety of media sources to get dierent interpretations of the information. Nevertheless, using any media source leaves one open to the gatekeeping power of the media elite. The Internet oers more information on a topic than a person could need or use. It is like having too many choices when eating at a restaurant. Still, the demands of choice are better than being spoon fed the interpretations of the media elite which, in turn, often reect the opinions of the political and/or economic elite (Lagon, 1996; Von Beyme, 1996). People become empowered through the ability to access uncensored information through the Internet. A member of the masses is one step

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closer to becoming a knowledge elite since s/he can access this information directly, thereby breaking through the media elite's control of information. Media elites interpret the information we receive as well as control access to information (Herman and Chomsky, 1988; Ryan, 1991). Web sites and newsgroups provide an opportunity for members of the masses to provide their interpretation or spin on informationto use political language. For as little as $20 a month in the US, a person can get access to the Internet and be given space to construct a Web site (Fund, 1995). Web site construction is now as simple as typing since the new software programs no longer require the use of complex html language. A member of the masses can oer other people his/her views on a political event. The Web site provides an opportunity for members of the masses to use political language. Anyone visiting the Web site gets the Web master's interpretation of political events and information. Similarly, people can post their views on subjects to newsgroups. Members of the masses can place their political language in the newsgroup and open it up to public viewing and comment. Like the media elite, members of the masses can use the Internet to display their interpretations publicly thereby taking another step toward becoming a knowledge elite. One nal aspect of the elite is the ability to mobilize support for their positions (Lagon, 1996). This ties back to the importance of the media elite. The political and economic elite are most likely to use the media when attempting to mobilize support for their ideas or positions on public issues (Crable and Vibbert, 1985). Basically we are talking about the power to generate grassroots support. Grassroots lobbying occurs when public opinion is on your side and people communicate that opinion to policy makers by contacting the policy makers. This contact might be via phone, mail, fax, or e-mail. Grassroots lobbying is very powerful in the US (Wittenberg and Wittenberg, 1990). The fact that political and economic elites spend millions of dollars each year on grassroots lobbying demonstrates their recognition of this power. There are three basic steps to grassroots organizing: (1) awareness of an issue, (2) reasons to take action, (3) information needed to take actionsmobilizing information (Keefer, 1993). First, people cannot take action unless they know about an issue. Agenda setting says that what issues the media report as important is what people feel are important. Thus, the political and economic elite try to control media content in order to control the public agenda. People cannot take action on an issue they know nothing about. Second, people need reasons for taking action on the issues. This usually involves linking the issue to the personal concerns of the public (Coombs, 1996). The political and economic elite use the content of the media to relay this information to people. Finally, people must have the mobilizing information (i.e. addresses, e-mail address, phone numbers, or fax numbers) if they are to take action. The political and economic elites try to put mobilizing information in their media stories. Members of the masses have diculty mobilizing the grassroots because they have a hard time using the media elite to facilitate this mobilization (Ryan, 1991). The Internet provides a ready means of mobilizing the grassroots. While both Web sites and newsgroups can be used, the Web site is the more useful Internet resource for

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mobilization because it is more permanent and can hold more information than a newsgroup posting. The Internet provides a means of making people aware of issues. The issue can be featured on a Web site or in a news group posting. The detailed information linking people to the issuethe reasons to careis easily placed on a Web site and can be incorporated into a newsgroup posting. The Web site and newsgroup postings also can oer the mobilization information people need if they are to take action. This system depends on people nding and taking the time to read through your materials. The various search mechanisms available on the Web make it easier to nd such material. Another option is to reach people directly with your information. Web sites solicit feedback from visitors and/or have guest books people can sign. In each case, the visitor leaves his or her e-mail address. The Web master can use this e-mail list as a mailing list and send all the relevant information for mobilizing directly to people. Some Web sites even ask people to join their mailing list (called a listserv). Examples include the Bulgarian and Belgian embassies and the Zapatista rebels in Mexico. There is even some potential to cull e-mail addresses from newsgroups for the same purposes. Members of the masses can use the Internet to develop a grassroots action and tap the nal requirement for being a knowledge elite. 6. Implications: portents for the future Our view of contemporary political communication and the prospects of the Internet for future practices leads readily to the discussion of ve basic implications for political communication as it enters the next millennium. First, we suggest that the Internet oers an escape from the agenda-setting power of current media elites. Second, we suggest that the Internet has signicant implications for image of Americans as uninformed voters. Third, it is clear that the growth of the Internet revitalizes a continuing societal need for is commonly termed ``critical thinkers.'' Fourth, we explore the potential of the knowledge elite to function as opinion leaders on political issues. Finally, we suggest that the Internet and the new ``electronic democracy'' enables people to achieve the government they deserve. Let us explore these implications individually. Controlling the content of the main stream news media is an important means of inuencing politics. The agenda-setting and framing research have documented the media's eect on politics (Iyengar and Kinder, 1987). Voting decisions can be inuenced by what issues are featured in the media and how political material is framed. For example, if the news media highlights the importance of increased military spending as a key issue, the news media is helping the candidate who is strongest on military spending. Voters are taught to focus on military spending (agenda setting) and that more military spending is the preferred course of action (framing). This political-news media connection helps to explain the US politicians obsession with controlling media coverage during campaigns (Bennett, 1988). The new knowledge elite are able to circumvent the political-news media information blockade. The new knowledge elite use sources other than the news media to

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learn about and to evaluate candidates and political issues (Hume, 1995; Kurtz, 1996). By watching C-Span or other political shows, by listening to talk radio, or by visiting various on-line sites a people can collect enormous amounts of information about candidates and issues. These people become empowered and they sift through this information and reach their own conclusion about politicians and issues rather than relying on the pre-packaged information of the political-news media elite linkage. The new technologies provide an avenue for members of the masses to execute their own political information retrieval and analysis. Our second conclusion confronts the level of information available to voters. Political critics in the US love to rail against the news media and political campaigns for creating uninformed voters. We do not dispute that US voters are among the least informed in the Western world about politics and politicians. We do dispute the roots of this ignorance, however. Political critics such as those cited earlier in this paper contend one source of ignorance is the news media who provide only a surface treatment of issues and politicians by focusing on images with no real depth of coverage. The news media, of course, say they have no choice in the matter. Their coverage is driven by what the political campaigns provide. The campaigns are shallow, image-based communication eorts exemplied by sound bites. As noted earlier in this analysis, politicians speak in and the news media report in sound bites. Complex issues are reduced to 10 to 15 second statements. We have already noted the diculties with this point of view and revisit it here only as a reminder that the Internet is an addition to an already-signicant array of news sources available to motivated receivers. However, the addition of the Internet highlights the fact that members of the knowledge elite need more than motivation to function eectively in the new media environment. Certain skills are necessary as well. Our third observation is that the availability of information alone does not lead to informed decision making. As explained by the Elaboration Likelihood Model, people may choose to ignore much of the substance of political communication and opt for peripheral processing of mediated messages. The democratizing eect of the Internet through its ready access by senders and receivers may ultimately prove counterproductive in that there is no regulation over the content of the information found on the Internet. The challenge which confronts the new knowledge elite is not to obtain information but to evaluate the information they encounter. The Internet provides eciency of distribution and access, but does not address the quality of content. ABC news personality Ted Koppel (as cited in Grossman, 1995, p. 147) rightly observes that new telecommunications technology moves us ``in the direction of a purer democracy than anything the ancient Greeks envisioned. It promises to be a asco.'' There are already abundant criticisms directed at the patently false, misleading, and sometimes-absurd information that is presently available on the World Wide Web. This marketplace of ideas is clearly not restricted to intellectually-nourishing products. The best response to this state of aairs is a renewed appreciation for training people to be critical consumers of communication. The challenge of producing an informed electorate must be answered by educational institutions which nurture skills in critical thinking by students. Future

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democratic political systems will oer people a more direct voice in government than ever before. Participants in the new knowledge elite should play a vital role in future political aairs. The need to critically evaluate information, to think rationally about arguments, to put claims into a reasonable historical context and to assess the worth of proposed policies requires a renewed emphasis on educating students to assume the responsibilities of citizenship in the twenty-rst century. Perhaps more than ever before, this requires that we teach students to be eective receivers of communication. Fourth, we feel that it is important to possess a clear understanding of the means of information dissemination in contemporary American society. We have already suggested that studies of political communication that are limited solely to the analysis of network news coverage should be approached with caution. If we look more closely at the ow of political information in the United States, we can understand the vitally important role of the knowledge elite in shaping public opinion. Ever since the post World War II rise of television in the United States, media analysts have attempted to understand the process through which television inuences viewers. Initially, media analysts treated television as a ``hypodermic needle'' or ``magic bullet'' which could implant information directly into viewers consciousness (Katz and Lazarseld, 1955). From this perspective it was primarily important to secure television coverage of a candidate or event, and the medium would take care of the rest. Early experience with television did not conrm this hypothesis, however, as analysts realized that the process of media inuence was more complex than anticipated. The ``magic bullet'' hypothesis was discounted as research demonstrated that people typically interact with one another about information received from television before acting on it (Pfau & Parrot, 1993; Katz and Lazarseld, 1995). These discussions with ``opinion leaders'' are potentially more inuential than the media itself. Contemporary analysts now advance the ``two-step'' or ``multi-step'' ow of information in recognition of the important role of personal interactions in the process of inuence. Lenart (1994) observes that "once a campaign is under way in the media, the entire communication process is best characterized as a dynamic interplay among media, interpersonal interactions, and opinion climate pressures. These inuence sources operate interactively and simultaneously upon individual voter's (pp. 110112). An opinion leader can thus act as a lter for mediated political information. Lenart's (1994) longitudinal study of ``information ow'' during the 1988 presidential campaign not only conrms the importance of interpersonal discussions but demonstrates that these discussions of candidates and issues can be even more important than the information presented through the media (p. 103). Clearly, members of the knowledge elite are potentially inuential participants in these interpersonal discussions. Though costs are dropping, not all voters can access the new media. However, a majority can have access if they choose to do so. Middle class families have the nancial resource to join the Internet while others can either pool resources or have connections to people who have access. This does not mean access is either universal nor easy. Without motivation, people are unlikely to use the new media to become

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information elites. People must decide to seek political information (be active) rather than to ip through cable channels (be passive). People must decide to search the Internet for information rather avoiding the technology or using it purely for entertainment. People must be willing to put the time and eort necessary to construct and maintain their own Web sites for oering their interpretations of political issues. Our nal observation is that, in the end, we in the US get the government we deserve. If voters wish to take the easy way, they can let the political-media elites spoon feed them their interpretations of political reality. Voters can accept to live in the diluted world of the sound bite. Or, voters can take some action have some control over their political realities. Voters can seek out other information and develop their own interpretations of political events which then becomes their political reality. Motivated people equipped with critical thinking tools and access to the news media can become information elites and be an active, informed voter. This is more an issue of choice than opportunity. Currently more people in the use have access than are willing to choose such a course. People can choose to remain victims of the political-media elite or choose to use the new media to make themselves into elites. References
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