Local media and local elections: voters' preferred information sources

Abstract

The high turnover rate of councillors across Queensland at the 2004 local government elections has been attributed in part to the volatility caused by greater media and public interest in council issues. Candidates in all levels of government have always tried to reach voters in order to win elections. Many see the media as the most effective way to get voters' attention. Voters, too, have used media information about candidates to help them decide their vote. However, this study - which examines voters' use of local media in the lead-up to a local government election - suggests voters across all age groups are using a variety of information sources when deciding for whom to vote. The findings may signal a change in voters' attitudes to mainstream media information and alternative sources of information about candidates, challenging the news media's traditional role as gatekeepers over what the public knows.