News Media Use, Talk Networks, and Anti-Elitism across Geographic Location: Evidence from Wisconsin

A certain social-political geography recurs across European and North American societies: As post-industrialization mechanization of agriculture have disrupted economies, rural nonmetropolitan areas are aging declining in population, leading to widening political cultural gaps between metropolitan communities. Yet communication research tends focus on national or cross-national levels, often emphasizing networked digital media an implicitly global information order. We contend that geographic place still provides a powerful grounding for individuals’ lifeworld experiences, identities, orientations communications politics. Focusing the U.S. state Wisconsin, presenting data gathered 2018, this study demonstrates significant, though small, differences locations terms their patterns consumption, talk, anti-elite attitudes. Importantly, television news continues play major role citizens’ repertoires locations, suggesting we must continue pay attention broadcast medium. Residents more communities consume significantly international from prestige sources such as New York Times, talk networks cleanly sorted by partisanship. Running against common stereotypes use, residents small towns no conservative than other citizens, even without controlling Our theoretical model empirical results call further intersections politics understanding consumption behaviors meanings citizens draw content.