COMMUNICATION AND READING 9

tion to other forms. The book readers in any community are
prominent members of a group who are interested in com-
munications in general.®

They are also among the more critically minded persons in
the community, so far as the communication media are con-
cerned. They are more likely than are the nonreaders of books
to be dissatisfied with newspapers, magazines, and the radio.

Attitudes toward Percentage Percentage
Other Media of of Book of Non-
Communication Readers readers
Sometimes feel like criticizing
Newspapers 80 64
Radio 78 63
Movies 72 52

Would prefer to pay $5 fee per

year for present radio without

advertising 29 17

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES
830 2,320

Source: Adapted from Lazarsfeld & Kendall, 1948. Differences on criticism
question hold with an educational control; differences on fee question hold
with an economic level control.
To some extent, perhaps, their dissatisfaction with the com-
mercial mass media is responsible for their reliance upon or
’According to a survey of women in a middle-sized Midwestern community,

the book readers also make more use of the “serious” content of the com-
munication media than do the nonreaders.

Percentage of Percentage of
Book Readers  Nomnreaders of Books

Read magazine articles, discussing

news events, in more detail 62 40
Read biographical sketches, in maga-

zines 47 26
Saw a documentary film, in last three

months 41 27
Listen to discussion of public issues

on air 34 23

These percentages are adapted from Bureau of Applied Social Research,
1948.

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