TY - JOUR
T1 - E-democracy Writ Small: The Impact of the Internet on citizen access to local elected officials
AU - Garrett, R. Kelly
AU - Jensen, Michael
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - This article examines how elected officials' interactions with neighborhood groups, business interests, issue groups, and other stakeholders are shaped by their use of the Internet and by characteristics of local e-government infrastructure. The study utilizes data from a nationwide survey of local elected officials and from an analysis of corresponding local government websites. Results show that Internet use is associated with a significant increase in contact with stakeholders and with increasingly diverse types of communication partners, even after controlling for officials' general propensity to communicate. Both time spent on official duties and city size moderate the influence of Internet use. However, local government web sites do not appear to have a substantive influence on citizen's participation in policy making
AB - This article examines how elected officials' interactions with neighborhood groups, business interests, issue groups, and other stakeholders are shaped by their use of the Internet and by characteristics of local e-government infrastructure. The study utilizes data from a nationwide survey of local elected officials and from an analysis of corresponding local government websites. Results show that Internet use is associated with a significant increase in contact with stakeholders and with increasingly diverse types of communication partners, even after controlling for officials' general propensity to communicate. Both time spent on official duties and city size moderate the influence of Internet use. However, local government web sites do not appear to have a substantive influence on citizen's participation in policy making
U2 - 10.1080/1369118X.2010.490558
DO - 10.1080/1369118X.2010.490558
M3 - Article
SN - 1369-118X
VL - 14
SP - 177
EP - 197
JO - Information, Communication and Society
JF - Information, Communication and Society
IS - 2
ER -