Abstract

The article presents the main findings from a sample survey of Italian adults concerning public communication. The findings can be grouped in two main segments: citizens' satisfaction with established tools of public communication; citizens' preferences for a number of channels that can be used for interacting with the public administration in different circumstances. As far as the first line of research is concerned, the public is mostly unaware of a number of tools established to foster communication between citizenship and government. The so-called "Urp" (Office for the Relations with the Public) is almost unknown; however, citizens that are familiar with it are very satisfied. Call centers are not widely used nor appreciated, especially by people little education. Civic networks are known and appreciated by a majority of Internet users, but Internet penetration in Italy continues to lag behind that of other major industrialized countries. As far as channel preferences are concerned, the sample is clearly split between new media enthusiasts and traditionalist users. Overall, however, most respondents clearly tend to prefer older, established forms of communication when they seek or receive information from the public administration.