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Local News and National Politics

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  • MARTIN, GREGORY J.
  • McCRAIN, JOSHUA

Abstract

The level of journalistic resources dedicated to coverage of local politics is in a long-term decline in the US news media, with readership shifting to national outlets. We investigate whether this trend is demand- or supply-driven, exploiting a recent wave of local television station acquisitions by a conglomerate owner. Using extensive data on local news programming and viewership, we find that the ownership change led to (1) substantial increases in coverage of national politics at the expense of local politics, (2) a significant rightward shift in the ideological slant of coverage, and (3) a small decrease in viewership, all relative to the changes at other news programs airing in the same media markets. These results suggest a substantial supply-side role in the trends toward nationalization and polarization of politics news, with negative implications for accountability of local elected officials and mass polarization.

Suggested Citation

  • MARTIN, GREGORY J. & McCRAIN, JOSHUA, 2019. "Local News and National Politics," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 113(2), pages 372-384, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:113:y:2019:i:02:p:372-384_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Charles Angelucci & Julia Cage & Michael Sinkinson, 2020. "Media Competition and News Diets," Sciences Po publications 2020-03, Sciences Po.
    2. Brian Knight & Ana Tribin, 2022. "Opposition Media, State Censorship, and Political Accountability: Evidence from Chavez’s Venezuela," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 36(2), pages 455-487.
    3. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4ec86lkes59hv9tfv77ld1p5fr is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Stefano Castriota & Marco Delmastro & Mirco Tonin, 2023. "National or local infodemic? The demand for news in Italy during COVID-19," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 507-536, December.
    5. Stefano Castriota & Marco Delmastro & Mirco Tonin, 2020. "National or Local? The Demand for News in Italy during COVID-19," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS74, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.
    6. Ruben Durante & Andrea Fabiani & Luc Laeven & José-Luis Peydró, 2021. "Media capture by banks," Economics Working Papers 1817, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Mar 2022.
    7. Charles Angelucci & Julia Cage & Michael Sinkinson, 2020. "Media Competition and News Diets," SciencePo Working papers hal-03393063, HAL.
    8. Fabio Battaglia, 2023. "Build Back Worse: The Media Coverage of Well-being Metrics Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Crucial Cases of Scotland and Italy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 521-573, April.
    9. Marcel Garz & Jonna Rickardsson, 2023. "Ownership and media slant: Evidence from Swedish newspapers," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(1), pages 18-40, February.
    10. Mathias Bühler & Andrew Dickens & Andrew C. Dickens, 2024. "From Couch to Poll: Media Content and the Value of Local Information," CESifo Working Paper Series 10959, CESifo.
    11. Andrew T Little, 2023. "Bayesian explanations for persuasion," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 35(3), pages 147-181, July.
    12. Sun, Junze & Schram, Arthur & Sloof, Randolph, 2021. "Elections under biased candidate endorsements — an experimental study," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 141-158.
    13. Little, Andrew T., 2022. "Bayesian Explanations for Persuasion," OSF Preprints ygw8e, Center for Open Science.
    14. Charles Angelucci & Julia Cage & Michael Sinkinson, 2020. "Media Competition and News Diets," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03393063, HAL.
    15. Philine Widmer & Sergio Galletta & Elliott Ash, 2022. "Media Slant is Contagious," Papers 2202.07269, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2023.
    16. Bühler Mathias & Andrew Dickens, 2024. "From Couch to Poll: Media Content and The Value of Local Information," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 496, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    17. Ewens, Michael & Gupta, Arpit & Howell, Sabrina, 2021. "Local Journalism under Private Equity Ownership," SocArXiv 6ynf4, Center for Open Science.
    18. Jacob M. Grumbach & Jamila Michener, 2022. "American Federalism, Political Inequality, and Democratic Erosion," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 699(1), pages 143-155, January.
    19. Francesco Barilari & Diego Zambiasi, 2023. "Political Campaigning, and Racial Discrimination in Arrests for Drugs," Trinity Economics Papers tep0223, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.

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