Political Participation in Hong Kong: The Roles of News Media and Online Alternative Media

Abstract

Different types of media use exert distinctive influences over political participation of various forms. Drawing on the O-S-R-O-R (Orientation–Stimulus–Reasoning–Orientation–Response) model of political communication effects, this study proposes a theoretical model to connect traditional news media use and online alternative media use to both institutional and noninstitutional forms of political participation. The framework integrates internal efficacy and political satisfaction as mediators to explain the indirect processes from media use to political participation. Findings from a survey of representative Hong Kong adults suggest that news media use and alternative media use can influence political participation in different ways. Specifically, traditional news media play the role of an efficacy facilitator to boost institutional and noninstitutional political participation, whereas online alternative media mainly serve as a political dissatisfaction amplifier to fuel citizens’ noninstitutional political participation, such as protest participation.