New research published in Scientific American shows that when local newspapers shutter, citizens increasingly turn to national news sources for political information — which the report says "emphasize competition and conflict between the parties."
Why it matters: The findings underscore the roughly $1 billion being donated by philanthropists, corporate backers and tech companies to save local news, and puts more pressure on society to address the issue ahead of the 2020 election.
Details: The study focused on split-ticket voting, a practice in which voters cast their ballot in favor of a presidential candidate from one party and a senatorial candidate from another.
- It found that communities that experienced a newspaper closure split their tickets less frequently than those that didn't during the presidential and senatorial elections between 2009-2012.
- In the absence of a strong local news source, the study points to new research that shows that people will consider partisanship a central part of their identity and put effort into expressing it.
- To that end, the study notes that some partisans actually sort themselves into the religious affiliation (for example, Evangelical Christians and Republicans) that matches their politics.
The big picture: The study's findings are notable because they show a direct link between the rise of partisanship and local attrition.
- Previous reports have showed that the loss of local news can be devastating on a community — impacting everything from government operational costs to voter turnout — but have not drawn a direct correlation.
Be smart: Americans are largely unaware of how bad the local news problem has gotten, according to another study from Pew Research Center. More than 70% of Americans think their local news outlets are doing very or somewhat well financially.
- There are dozens of efforts and lots of money being invested to find better business model solutions to support local news in America.
- For example, the Knight Foundation, one of the largest news non-profits in the country, announced Sunday that it's investing $6 million in 3 organizations that will focus specifically on bolstering local news business models.
What's next: Until something is done, the burden is carried by most of society's major institutions.
