Communications Research in Action: Scholar-Activist Collaborations for a Democratic Public Sphere

12. Citizen Political Enfranchisement and Information Access: Telecommunications Services in Rural and Remote Areas

240 CHAPTER 12 Citizen Political Enfranchisement and Information Access Telecommunications Services in Rural and Remote Areas richard s. wolff As an increasing number of participatory democratic processes assume access to modern, high-speed telecommunications services, this study addressed the question: Are citizens in rural/remote areas being politically disenfranchised by lack of adequate, affordable, and equal communications infrastructure? Electronic media, including high-speed Internet access and local broadcast, play an important role in the democratic process. Citizen enfranchisement is increasingly equated with online activities from blogging to e-government. Residents in metropolitan areas, where high-speed wired and wireless connectivity is widely available, can readily be included in these processes. They can go online to get notices and agendas of community meetings, receive information about issues that particularly affect them through neighborhood and affinity group listservs, learn more about candidates , ballot issues, and campaign finance practices, engage in dialogues with state and local representatives, obtain licenses and permits, file tax returns, and register to vote, to name a few of the growing list information tools that extend enfranchisement and encourage citizen engagement. As statewide and some local governmental entities ‘‘shift resources to online access to government services to reduce costs and increase business sector satisfaction’’ (State of Montana 2008), they must also focus on meeting the needs and enfranchisement of private citizens. With emphasis on e-governance and media consolidation, this study brings to light issues speci fic to rural areas that need to be addressed to help optimize engagement between government and rural area citizens. In this assessment, we used Montana as a case study, but the results are applicable to rural areas in general. This project was carried out as a collaborative effort by the Montana Media Partnership (MMP), which consisted of staff from Montana Common Cause and Montana State University, with support from the Common Cause national organization. Common Cause works to strengthen public participation and faith in our institutions of self-government; to ensure that government and political processes serve the general interest, rather than special interests; to curb the excessive influence of money on government decisions and elections; to promote fair elections and high ethical standards for government officials; and to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of all. The MMP was established after discussions between the author and Common Cause revealed an opportunity to examine the challenges of disenfranchisement of rural area citizens in the face of expanded use of information age technology in public affairs. Both the author and Montana Common Cause were independently involved in assessment of the scope of these issues and their impact on democratic processes, and successfully applied for a grant from the Social Science Research Council to formalize the MMP, collaboratively conduct a study, and engage in outreach. This partnering between an academic institution and a public advocacy group was instrumental in achieving the project objectives. The resources made available through the efforts of Montana Common Cause were critically important in identifying stakeholders, reaching out to connect with information sources, and in obtaining input, disseminating results, and transitioning ideas into actions. Common Cause was particularly effective in providing avenues for publicizing the study through media contacts and other paths, and engaging the public in dialogue. The academic role was critical in framing the problem statement, examining and analyzing the data in an objective manner, and in putting forth sound conclusions and recommendations. This partnership forms an excellent model for engaging citizens and effecting change. background Citizens in less populated areas do not necessarily enjoy the growing list of e-governance possibilities. According to the National Center for Frontier Communities, fifty-one out of the fifty-six counties in Montana have a status of frontier, which includes 54.1 percent of Montana’s population (The National Center for Frontier Communities 2007). The International City/ County Management Association (ICMA) surveyed 3,400 local governments countrywide to assess the level of sophistication in their e-government offerings and demonstrated that the level of e-government services being offered by local governments is increasing. Unfortunately, the survey t e le c o mm u n ic a t io n s se r v ic e s in r u ra l a nd r e mo t e ar e a s 241 242 r i ch a r d s . w ol f f excluded municipalities under 2,500 people, the populations of approximately...