The Relationship between the Viewing of National Media Channels, IRIB and the Components of the Political Culture of Students in Tehran University

The political participation of citizens depends on various factors, including their political culture. The components of citizen political culture, including their values, beliefs, feelings, and political knowledge, are formed during the process of socialization. Today, the media, along with family, peer groups, and the education system, is one of the most important factors in socialization. In this regard, this study was conducted to investigate the relationship between those who observe IRIB, which are a number of government-backed TV channels, and the components of the political culture of students in Tehran universities. For this purpose, 400 students were selected by stratified random sampling. The statistical method used in this study was multivariate regression and path analysis. The results show that there is a direct correlation between those who view IRIB channels and the political culture of students; in other words, students who view such TV channels more, have more of an active political culture (more participatory). In addition, there is a significant relationship between viewing government-backed channels and the values, beliefs and political feelings of students of Tehran universities, but there is no significant relationship between the viewing of such channels and the political knowledge of students.