Citizen participation and communication technologies

Abstract

This study aims to strengthen the scientific credibility of the use of communication technologies--television and, ultimately, satellite and cable systems--as tools for stimulating public participation in the urban policy making process. Various programs were initiated in the 1960s and 1970s to promote public participation. However, those efforts merely concluded that general citizen participation in the modern, complex American society may not be the most efficient way of conducting government, nor the simplest. This research pursues qualified answers to the problem that a democracy faces when it lacks public interest and involvement. A modern democratic society deserves to use its most modern and innovative technological discoveries to enhance the efficiency of its governmental process, rather than to simply conclude that the notion of participation should be reconsidered. In this study, television evaluation research was conducted with the city of College Station, Texas, when the city decided to draft a new comprehensive city plan. The research focused on television stations serving the College Station viewing area: the public affiliate, KAMU-TV, and the commercial station, KBTX-TV. Campaign material was produced and scheduled, based upon the theoretical and empirical knowledge of the author. Data analyses were made by using the static group comparison technique. The results of this campaign displayed the effectiveness of television as a communication tool for stimulating citizen participation in the urban policy making process. ...