Opinion Surveillance or Entertainment? Understanding Who Reads the Letters Section and Why

• In Event: News Audiences: New Findings

Abstract

This study addresses a gap in our understanding of the letters-to-the-editor section of newspapers by providing information about how often people read the letters section, who these readers are, and why they choose to do so. Findings, based on an original non-probability survey administered to 1,621 newspaper readers in the Philadelphia area, suggest that over half of newspaper readers read the letters section at least once a week, with letter readers tending to be older, more educated males. The majority of people reading the letters section do so because it allows them to “hear” people’s political discussions. These findings are contextualized in relation to the uses and gratifications approach.

Author

• Alex T. Williams, University of Pennsylvania