• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.44
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• pp.76-107
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• 2008

The present study has explored the effects of media use on the evaluation of the presidential candidate's morality. We hypothesized that the perception of the candidates' morality during the 2007 Korean President Election would be influenced by the amount of the different types of media use. Using a set of panel data, a total of 1,199 citizens (584 females (48.7%), 615 males (51.3%), Mage=42.77, SDage=13.34) were assessed four times from August to December in 2007. The results indicated that (a) the level of TV use for political information, the level of newspaper use for political information, and the level of Internet use for political information increased during the five months; (b) the initial level of political involvement contributed differently to the initial levels of media use; (c) the initial level of political involvement negative influenced the initial level of TV use for political information; (d) the growth of political involvement positively influenced the growth of TV use for political information; (e) the intial level of TV use for political information increased both the initial levels of the perception of candidates' morality and the change of the perception of candidates' morality; (f) the change of TV use for political information negatively affected the perception of candidates' morality; and (g) the initial level of Internet use for political information negatively affected the initial level of the perception of candidates' morality, and the change of Internet use for political information negatively affected the perception of candidates' morality.