Fidelity of information transmission in local campaigns on water issues

Most issues involving water supply are public issues, and achieving consensus for solution of problems in this area is problematic, therefore a study was designed to assess whether information about water issues is distorted in successive transmissions, thereby inhibiting achievement of consensus. The issue in the study community hinged on expansion of its sewage treatment facility, or losing local industry in order to abate the flow of inadequately treated effluent into a local river. Analysis showed that degree of exposure to information about water pollution, and especially to official information sources, contributed to consensus on the seriousness of the problem, but not to consensus on problem solution. Therefore it seemed unlikely that sheer information loss or other modifications of message content in successive transmissions of information could account for a lack of consensus on problem solution. However, analyzing respondents' basic attitudes as determinants of positions on pollution issues, showed more promising results. Tentative findings indicate that people who view themselves as dependent, and lacking in ability to predict events, are most prone to favor corporate action. It is suggested that information campaigns on public issues should take into account the link between peoples' basic attitudes and issue-specific attitudes.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe