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Who Watches the Watchmen? Local News and Police Behavior in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Nicola Mastrorocco
  • Arianna Ornaghi

Abstract

Do US municipal police departments respond to news coverage of local crime? We address this question exploiting an exogenous shock to local crime reporting induced by acquisitions of local TV stations by a large broadcast group, Sinclair. Using a unique dataset of 8.5 million news stories and a triple-differences design, we document that Sinclair ownership decreases news coverage of local crime. This matters for policing: Municipalities that experience the change in news coverage have lower violent crime clearance rates relative to municipalities that do not. The result is consistent with a decrease of crime salience in the public opinion.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicola Mastrorocco & Arianna Ornaghi, 2025. "Who Watches the Watchmen? Local News and Police Behavior in the United States," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 285-318, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:17:y:2025:i:2:p:285-318
    DOI: 10.1257/pol.20230356
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media

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