RETHINKING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TELEVISION AND VOTER: THE MOTIVES OF AUDIENCE DURING THE 2009 LOCAL ELECTIONS

Television is an important part of our lives for nearly half a century and compared to other mass media, it maintains its position by conveying messages effective and persuasive and does not require any training to use. using visual and auditory input as well and inducing an artificial sense of participation, makes it superior to other mass communication means. being viewed as the most effective communication tool, television is the media of choice throughout the world during elections for political candidates and voters as well. this study investigated television viewing habits and motives during 29 march 2009 local elections. the results obtained from 948 participants living in konya city center revealed five motives that were affective on the viewing of television. these motivations are, in order of importance: (1) relaxation and entertainment, (2) guidance, (3) pass time and social escape, (4) information seeking and (5) habits and social interaction. age, level of education, reliance on television for political information, attached importance to television programs during elections and television viewing motives have been found as fundamental predictors to television viewing in this context.