Public Opinion — Chapter IV Time and Attention

1. 1. Three independent surveys from 1900, 1916, and 1920 all found that 70-75% of respondents estimated spending only 15 minutes per day reading newspapers.
2. 2. 67% of Chicago business professionals read two or three newspapers daily, matching the 71% who estimated 15 minutes of reading time.
3. 3. Among college students, 67.5% cited public affairs news as their most interesting newspaper feature, but gender differences suggest social desirability bias in responses.
4. 4. In 1900, 76.5% of edited newspaper space was devoted to public affairs, closely matching the 70.6% of reasons Chicago businessmen gave for preferring a newspaper in 1916.
5. 5. The author predicts that modern readers spend more than 15 minutes on newspapers but a smaller percentage of time on public affairs due to increased features and entertainment.
6. 6. The author concludes that the time people spend directly exposed to information about their unseen environment is small, even under the most favorable estimate.