在理想的民主社會裡，選舉應當是植基於選民對公眾事務的認知 和參與，而傳播媒體的功用則在提供選民充分的政治資訊和動員民眾 參與。本研究以嘉義市和民雄鄉的居民爲樣本，調查傳播媒體在首屆 省長選舉中對選民的政治學習和投票意願的影響。研究結果發現電視 新聞和街道競選宣傳可以增強選民對候選人名的記憶，而報紙的選舉 新聞可以幫助選民了解候選人的政見。另外，能夠説出較多候選人的 民眾顯示出較高的投票意願，但是比較了解候選人政見的民眾卻沒有 顯示出較高的投票意願。

In an ideal democratic society, election should be based on voters’ knowledge of and their willingness to take part in public affairs. And the function of mass media should be to inform the general public of the relevant political issues and to mobilize them to participate more fully. This study investigates the influence of mass media on voters* political learning and voting intention in the first provincial governor election, based on a wide sample of the • people living in Chia-Yi City and Ming-Xiong Village. It found that television news and street campaigns can reinforce voters' recall of candidates* names, and election news on newspapers can help voters be more knowledgeable about candidates’ platforms. In addition, voters who can recall more candidates’ names are highly motivated to cast their votes, but voters who better understand candidates’ platforms feel a lack of motivation to vote.