Computer-Mediated Communication in the Arizona Legislature: Applying Media Richness Theory to Member and Staff Communication

Computer-mediated communication has become an important channel of information within legislatures as well as with external actors. This study examines the applicability of media richness theory to the selection of communication channels in a state legislature. Results of a survey of members and sta...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:State & local government review 2005-08, Vol.37 (2), p.142-150
Main Authors: Paul Ferber, Foltz, Franz, Rudy Pugliese
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arizona
Communication
Communications media
Computer mediated communications
Conversation
Digital divide
Email
Interest groups
Internet
Legislative Bodies
Legislators
Local government
Men
Practitioner's Corner
Secretaries
Telecommunications
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Summary:Computer-mediated communication has become an important channel of information within legislatures as well as with external actors. This study examines the applicability of media richness theory to the selection of communication channels in a state legislature. Results of a survey of members and staff of the Arizona legislature revealed that legislators and interest groups tend to favor the traditional means of face-to-face communication, while staff and individual constituents tend to employ more mediated channels, such as e-mail and telephone. These differences can be explained by media richness theory, which holds that face-to-face communication rather than mediated channels are more likely to be used in equivocal tasks involving interpretation and persuasion. This study also focuses on how members and staff use the legislature's Web site and other Internet sites in conjunction with their work. The findings suggest that legislative staff use the Internet for a greater variety of reasons, including e-mail, than do legislators (that is, they have a broader pattern of Internet use) while members tend to use more personal channels of communication.
ISSN:0160-323X
1943-3409
DOI:10.1177/0160323X0503700205